Cheaper organic foods in big shops?

Big is not necessarily beautiful, Lisa. Big is not necessarily cheaper. Of course, it should be. Big means lower overheads per item. It means greater spending power, and therefore greater ability to bargain with suppliers. But if big shops meant cheap prices, the cheapest organic food would be found in supermarkets like Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda. Whereas the truth is that the cheapest organic food is generally sold by small independent retailers and direct from the farm. As a student I thoroughly recommend you find a local organic box scheme. They are not only the cheapest. They usually have the best quality of produce, best variety, freshest, ripest and undeniably most convenient food. They will bring it to your door straight from the farm. And they won't ruin your local neighbourhood with some hideous big concrete building and slab of tarmac car park. Shop around. There is probably a farmers' market near you. If so, check out their prices too. You may be pleasantly surprised. And yes, some smaller organic shops are purveyors of amazing quality food that does demand a higher price than some flavourless factory made product. But many smaller stores are competitive whilst supporting your community, so do give them a visit to compare prices on a range of goods.

Ysanne Spevack