Cost of living: It pays to shop at green grocers, markets and farmshops

Tuesday, 28 June 2022

Charlene Papara with a Hapori Fruit and Veg Box. The initiative is a good way to save on fresh fruit and veggies.

If you take a detour from supermarkets to grocery stores, markets, or pre-order a veggie box in the Nelson region, you could currently cut your fruit and vegetable bill by more than a third in some cases.

Buying from local farm shops brings the price down even further – but you need to factor in the cost of travelling to those outlets, usually a little way out of town.

The Nelson Mail shopped around for fresh produce, comparing the cost of a DHB-supported fruit and veggie box with the price of the same or similar items from a range of local retailers.

The Hapori Fruit & Veg Box delivered to a reporter and used to compare prices at other retailers.

While not an exact science – some outlets only stocked bigger bags of certain items, or different varieties – in each area, the supermarkets were considerably more expensive.

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The $15 Hapori Fruit & Veg Box, set up by the DHB and Nelson Environment Centre, is available to those who pre-order to pick up weekly from Victory Community Centre in central Nelson. IT offers different produce each week depending on what is available from growers.

Last week, customers got a leek, a bunch of carrots, half a red cabbage, half a green squash, a bag of bunched spinach (195g), seven mandarins (390g), and four red potatoes (745g).

At a nearby Countdown in central Nelson, the bill for that produce came to just over $23.

At two grocery stores a couple of blocks away, the cost was $16.10 and $17.60.

It was a similar story in Stoke – where the grocery store was just over the road from the supermarket – and in the Richmond area, with farm shops, Connings Food Market and 185 in Hope, offering the best value for money overall, dropping as low as $11.50.

If you have to or prefer to shop in town, places like the Saturday market in Nelson’s Montgomery Square could also save you money.

Price breakdown:

Nelson:

Items marked with * are either cabbages/squash only offered whole (which we halved the price of), or items only offered in larger amounts than in the Hapori Box.

Countdown supermarket, Paruparu Rd &, Halifax Street, leek $2.20, bunch carrots $3.80, half red cabbage $2.25 quick sale ($4.50 regular price), half a green squash $3.50, bag spinach $5.50* (250g baby spinach – no bunches available), seven mandarins (542g) $3.39, four red potatoes (847g) $2.53. Cost $23.17

The General Grocery Store, 117 Saint Vincent Street, Toi Toi: leek $1.49, bunch carrots $2.49 half red cabbage $1.99*, half green squash $2.50*, spinach $2.99* (420g bag), five mandarins (360g) $2.14, four agria potatoes (832g) $2.48. (also offered 1kg bag red potatoes $1.99, 800g bag mandarins $4). Cost $16.08

Benge & Co Green Grocers, 60 Montgomery Square, leek $1.99, bunch carrots $3.49 half red cabbage $2.29, half green squash $2.50*, spinach $2.99* (370g bag), four mandarins (364g) $2.18, four red potatoes (728g) $2.18. Cost $17.62

Stall at Saturday market, Montgomery Square, leek $1.50, bunch carrots $2.50, half red cabbage $2*, half green squash $2.50*, spinach $3* (400g bag), mandarins $3.50* (1kg bag), red potatoes $3.50* (1kg bag). Cost $18.50

Another stall at Saturday market, Montgomery Square, Nelson, leek $1.50, bunch carrots $3.00, half red cabbage $1.50, NO SQUASH OR PUMPKIN, spinach $3* (300g bag), mandrains $2.50* (600g bag), red potatoes (1kg) $2.00. Cost $13.50

Stoke, Nelson:

New World supermarket, 107 Neale Avenue, leek $2.29, bunch carrots $3.99, half green cabbage $1.99, half green squash $2.50*, spinach $4.50* (500g bag), six mandarins $2.76 (425g), four red potatoes $2.17 (820g) Cost $20.20

The Veggie Guy, 520 Main Road Stoke, leek $1.49, bunch carrots $2.99, half red cabbage $2.29, half pumpkin $1.69, spinach $4.29* (270g bag), four mandarins $2 (350g), red potatoes $1.99 (1kg). Cost $16.74

Richmond area:

PAKnSAVE, Richmond Mall, leek $1.69, bunch carrots $2.89, half red cabbage $2.69, half green squash $2.18, spinach $5.29* (350g bag), six mandarins $2.18 (336g), four white potatoes $2.02 (810g) Cost $18.94

Connings Food Market, 151 McShane Road, Appleby, leek $1.49, bunch carrots $2.79, half red cabbage $1.59, half green squash $0.90*, spinach $2.79*(350g bag), five mandarins $1.77 (378g), four desiree potatoes $1.56 (784g) (Small crown pumpkins 49c on special) Cost $12.86

Farmshop, PYO at 185, 185 Main Road, Hope – weekly, open 8.30am-4.30pm Fridays, leek $1.20 (bunch of four $3), bunch carrots $2.50, half red cabbage $1.50, half pumpkin $1.40*, spinach $2.50* (250g bag), six mandarins $1.34 (380g) (1kg bag $3.25), four red potatoes $1.15 (760g) Cost $11.59