Is it possible…

Outside of my own home, there is one place out there in the world where I spend a lot, if not most of my free time. I wish I could tell you that it’s an art gallery, or soup kitchen, or even the library. But it’s not. It’s the supermarket.

I don’t like the name supermarket. Markets bring up memories of slowly meandering through stalls, of discovering local artisans and of tasting handmade treats. Heaving a non-compliant trolley around the aisles of Coles, Woolworths or Aldi is nothing like a trip to the markets. And not only is it called a market, it’s a Super! market. The hero of markets –  capable of ruining your budget and your afternoon in a single bound.

I don’t like the way shopping for food has become (for me) so unconscious and robotic. Reach – put in trolley – reach – put in trolley. Even the way I follow a path up and down the aisles predetermined by marketing people to maximise my exposure to certain displays drives me nuts.

But – we have to eat. And someone has to buy the food and cart it home. In my family, that person is me. So if I’m going to spend so much of my time planning, buying, and transporting food – do I really have to do it in an environment that depletes me?

All I know is that when I buy something from a butcher or a growers market it makes me happy. I know I put more effort into whatever I cook with it. And when I go to the supermarket (every day, it feels like) I feel ripped off and like I want to order take aways.

Which got me thinking.

Is it possible, I wonder, to just NOT use supermarkets? My grandparents didn’t. Yours probably didn’t, either. But is it really possible in 2016 to avoid supermarkets and make the process of buying food better and not worse?

I think it could be. I’m game enough to try.

This is my plan:

I already have a weekly organic fruit and veg box delivered. It has 12 free range eggs in it, soon to be subbed out for more vegetables when our own hens start laying.

There is a butcher at the end of the road and another good one in town. Weekly markets also have free range meat sellers.

My local co-op has grains, pulses, non-dairy milks, tea & coffee, nuts, cereals, and cleaning products.

Pet food could easily be ordered online or bought from a pet store.

I figure that leaves me with toiletries and lunch box snacks I can’t be bothered making weekly – like crackers. If I’m tricksy, I can get these somewhere else as well.

I’m going to try it for a month and see whether my experiment makes me happier – or poorer in both time and money.

Watch this space.