Where do you buy your fruit and vegetables from? everything I'm getting in the supermarkets is rotten.

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sominfrog@reddit

Lmao sorry but that's all I can say. I see it everytime I go shopping people just picking up the first bag of oranges or apples and chucking it in the trolley without checking them first, also throwing it in the trolley rather than placing it is going to damage fruit. No excuse, lazy shopping. And if you can afford to shop at Waitrose then I would expect you to make sure you check the produce first.

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sominfrog@reddit

Ah downvoted for having common sense. What a wonderful world we live in

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continentaldreams@reddit

I buy mine from a local veg box delivery - just google your area + 'veg delivery' or 'veg/fruit box' and there should be one. We love it. £25 a week - this week it was potatoes, shallots, courgettes, cauliflower, peppers, apples, bananas, kiwis. And we also get a loaf of bread and eggs on top of that. It's so worth it.

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LeanOnGreen@reddit

That doesn't sound like alot for £25 considering how cheap fruit and veg can be. What kind of portion sizes are we talking?

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continentaldreams@reddit

A lot. This is what was delivered today: 10 apples, 5 bananas, five apricots, 15 shallots, three courgettes, three large peppers, a bag of green beans, a bunch of radishes, five onions, a huge bag of potatoes, a large head of lettuce, a bag of tomatoes, two bags of wild mushrooms, a loaf of sourdough bread, three ciabatta rolls, and 6 eggs. It never rots, not even a week or two after - and the majority comes from local farms and bakeries.

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Fun_Cauliflower9182@reddit

Ever tried SausageBox? You get a variety of sausages once a fortnight for £20. Mmmm, sausages

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LeanOnGreen@reddit

That does sound pretty good. I wouldn't even know what to make.

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No-Photograph3463@reddit

That's the issue with these boxes though. My parents used to get one, and it would always involve having to go to the shops to top up the fruit and veg, as there is never enough variety for a decent salad, or to make actual meals.

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sc00022@reddit

Can’t remember if it was Riverford or Oddbox but one of them kept on sending us chard every single time for months. There are only so many things you can do with chard and it got to the point where we were wasting a lot of it as we couldn’t get through it quick enough.

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McSheeples@reddit

Riverford have really improved for that. You can shop for individual fruit and veg and you know what's going to be in the box a week in advance. I usually just make up my own box rather than going for the pre done ones.

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Tiltedheaded@reddit

If you need extra fruit and veg to make a decent meal out of that you can't cook.

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NaturalSuccessful521@reddit

If that's the case, you can ask chat gpt what to make with xyz ingredients. It's good for stuff like that.

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continentaldreams@reddit

Neither do we - that's the fun of it though. We're forced to cook outside of our comfort zone.

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oxymoron10101@reddit

Ooooh that sounds good. Which site do you use?

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sc00022@reddit

There are lots of national companies that do this like Oddbox, Riverford, Abel & Cole. Also try farmers shops near you

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continentaldreams@reddit

It's a regional thing near me - if you google though, most places in the UK will have something similar!

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oxymoron10101@reddit

Thank you will give that a go! Sounds so much easier than buying it every couple of days. I give my little one a lot of fruit so constantly in aldi or Tesco getting strawberries raspberries apples bananas and could do with a break😂

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BatsMilk@reddit

What site is this?

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continentaldreams@reddit

It's a regional thing near me - if you google though, most places in the UK will have something similar!

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l0tuslove@reddit

That sounds incredible. Wow. Definitely looking into that!

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WulfyGeo@reddit

I get a local veg box too. It’s just me so I pay 15 every two weeks. Stuff is still good on the second week. I do eat the stuff that is less likely to last first. No choice on what you get though. I am currently really ready for cabbage not to be in season anymore.

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Creepy_Radio_3084@reddit

If you've got 'too much of a good thing' (e.g. seasonal veg) prep it, blanch it and freeze it in individual portions. I've got a load of root veg and Cavalo Nero in the freezer from a couple of months ago when they were reduced. Sadly I ran out of swede mash and the only ones available for weeks were tiny and expensive. This weekend they were a decent size and 25p each cheaper, so I bought two and restocked. Now have about 20 generous portions of swede mash to see me over the next couple of months...

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continentaldreams@reddit

Haha yeah ours is the same - it's all stuff that's in season so we had quite a few weeks worth of cabbages! So we just experimented with a few different recipes - that's part of the fun of it.

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ChiaKmc@reddit

We use Riverford, which is national, but the veg lasts for weeks.

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draxenato@reddit

Why don't you check your fruit and veg in the store before you buy it ?

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Gymbunni02@reddit

I used to buy fresh strawberries all the time- I picked some up at about 8am before I started work, put them in the fridge, got home at 6pm and they were like jam. And they had a long date on them still. I stopped getting veg from aldis/lidls for this reason.

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GrowMyOwnHair@reddit

I've been having a problem of fruit and vegetables that look okay on the outside (from the level of scrutiny you can give them in packaging), but once peeled or cut into turn out to be rotting inside.

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ThoseTwo203@reddit

Or the rouge mouldy mushroom at the bottom of the seemly alright package

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elliefaith@reddit

Did you mean rogue or are you finding red mushrooms in your packs?

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ThoseTwo203@reddit

🤣🤣🤣 if they were rouge and the fun kind I probably wouldn’t have minded

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elliefaith@reddit

Normally pay extra for those! 😂

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ab_2404@reddit

Do you not want extra fungi with your fungi?

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SomeShiftyBastard@reddit

I paid for a very specific amount and kind of fungus. I do not want unrequested additional fungi.

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Wise-Application-144@reddit

A spore is a spore. Eat up!

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TheWelshMrsM@reddit

Sounds like a bad Dr Seuss title

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ThoseTwo203@reddit

‘A spore is a spore. Yes a spore you see! So when you have two you’ll soon have three!’

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TwowheelsgoodAD@reddit

I have literally never had that. Its you, not them.

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meisobear@reddit

Packaged herbs are bad for this; I've given up with Aldi for them because, I swear they (or at least, the one round me), stuff the package with herbs around a core of rot. Although now I've said that, that feels totally impractical from a supply chain approach so maybe it's something to do with how they are distributed

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hhfugrr3@reddit

Bought a bag of carrots two days ago, checked them & they looked fine. Yesterday my gf opened them and found they’d gone rotten. Had a bag of potatoes in an opaque bag on Monday. Opened it the same day I bought it, half were rotten.

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tazbaron1981@reddit

Don't leave them in the bag. They go rotten quicker in the bag

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jade333@reddit (OP)

I do check most of it, you can't tell with everything though.

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Serious_Escape_5438@reddit

Can't you buy things loose? Is everything in packaging?

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shaunvonsleaze@reddit

A lot of Tesco extra etc which many people in big cities depend o have a very limited selection (read as limes, maybe peppers and sometimes Avo) of loose veg.

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Serious_Escape_5438@reddit

Yeah, but OP says it's a big town and they've tried all the supermarkets, I would have thought somewhere would have something.

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shaunvonsleaze@reddit

Yeah that’s fair :)

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iamnotralphwiggum@reddit

Yeah especially in plastic, you can't check it properly at all.

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karlware@reddit

Plastics usually mean it'll rot as soon as it opens.

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Branchy28@reddit

I have the same problem with blueberries, they're packaged in sealed plastic boxes so I can't squeeze them to test firmness, they look perfectly fine (no mold and from the outside they don't appear to be wilting) the experation date on the label is fine, but when I get home and try to eat them I'll find out the inside of them is just a sour mush with a fresh looking blueberry exterior... Doesn't matter where I go, it's the same everywhere, both in and out of season, it's like a blueberry lottery where 50% of the time I get edible blueberries and the other 50% of the time I get mushy peas mixed with citric acid and then pained blue.

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_mister_pink_@reddit

Not OP but I do this and the reality is that it’s basically all going off and its not a case of picking the freshest but picking the least likely to go off in the next couple of days. I’m very lucky in that there is an open market in my village 2 days a week and I get my veg from there now and it’s much fresher although it’s still gone up in price like everything else.

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Gen_TA@reddit

Are you just picking bad food or storing it poorly? Food shouldn't be "going rotten" that fast - so either you're being dramatic, or you've got serious issues somewhere.

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Stargazer86F@reddit

Most fruit and veg doesn’t have use by on it now. It’s also going off a lot quicker then it used to.

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Serious_Escape_5438@reddit

Because of supply chain issues it's been sitting around longer when it arrives.

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Stargazer86F@reddit

It’s bad enough paying higher prices but they should at least keep the quality the same

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Serious_Escape_5438@reddit

But it's just not possible to defy nature. If things are sitting around longer that's the result.

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Tiltedheaded@reddit

So they should charge less.

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Serious_Escape_5438@reddit

People need to make money though. And prices don't work that way, it's supply and demand, if there's nothing better out there people will buy them anyway. Supermarkets, farmers and intermediaries are businesses, if they don't make money they just won't sell anything. It actually happens sometimes that farmers decide it's not worth picking their crops because the cost of wages etc is higher than what they'd earn. So if you want no vegetables that's a great way to go.

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captain-vye@reddit

It's a huge issue for me as well. Even things that look fine won't keep as long. I like to meal plan and do one big food shop a week but it's not really possible now. I'm buying more fresh things as I need them and changing my plans based on what looks best in the shop. I wouldn't mind but I'm finding it hard to be out and about so much with my dodgy health.

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nathderbyshire@reddit

It depends because I got fruit and veg from Aldi once and it all went off in a couple days, went in Aldi the other week for the first time in ages and got no veg at all, it was visibly rotting in places and just looked absolutely horrible overall.

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No-Photograph3463@reddit

Yeh I get the majority of my fruit and veg from Aldi. Most of it is fine, but you do have to be careful, as especially soft fruit can be mouldy on the shelf, particularly blueberries, raspberries and tomatoes.

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NecroVelcro@reddit

It was a few years ago now but I've twice seen mouldy produce trays at the Tesco Extra in Merthyr. It wasn't just a few in either case and there was a great deal of stinking liquid around the peppers.

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nathderbyshire@reddit

I used to work at Tesco and we'd get it delivered like that sometimes. Was supposed to go through and check and pull anything out that was off but sometimes it was so busy you didn't have time and just have to keep rolling veg out, especially at Christmas. It's part of the new waste system as well, no dates just see how it looks, means a lot of people are starting to see their produce turn faster than it has before.

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TiredDad77@reddit

Last Christmas I bought sprouts from Tesco that literally stank of shit…

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toby1jabroni@reddit

Anecdotally speaking, I have noted a significant difference in grocery food shelf life over the last few years myself

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DenseAerie8311@reddit

I dunno I reall struggle with oth finding food that’s not going of in few days . It may eve the times and days I’m shopping ? Maybe try shopping at different time

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SorryContribution681@reddit

Mostly aldi and Sainsbury's and it's rare I have any issues with quality. I did use Oddbox for fruit and veg for about a year but it got a bit too expensive.

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njt1986@reddit

The problem is that most fruit and veg you’re getting in a supermarket isn’t in season so is rotting faster. Look at tomatoes, most of the tomatoes now are imported from Spain and Morocco - if they’re picked on the Monday, they’re then packaged and chilled, loaded onto a ship on Tuesday, arrive at a U.K. port late Tuesday, unloaded and put on a train or lorries and taken to a distribution centre for Wednesday, they’re then sent around all the other distribution network that service different parts of the country, sent to stores on Thursday and that’s when you buy it. They’re already 4 days old by then. Best bet is to try to find a local greengrocers/market/farm shop and you’ll get much fresher fruit and veg and I’ve found it’s cheaper. I’m lucky because there’s a greengrocer about a mile away in a village and there’s a farm shop maybe 5 miles in the other direction, so I try to buy from them as much as I can, the quality is generally better and nothing is pre-packaged, it’s all loose, so I can buy exactly what I need so it’s cheaper with no food waste

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Short_Ad_4595@reddit

I’m my area there are veg growers with farm shops. They also supply the local town veg shop where I can purchase lovely fresh fruit n veg regularly.

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BecauseIwasjust@reddit

Use a veg box and eat seasonal. The issues are that a lot of the fruit and veg imported is being held up. Even if its only by a day or so, its noticable in the quality of the produce. I would recommend googling a local veg box, or going with one of the nationals such as Riverford or Abel and Cole. We went with Riverford about 5 years ago and struggle to eat supermarket veg now as they're quite tasteless in comparison. The other thing I would note is price. They are a lot more expensive, but because you don't head off to the supermarket as frequently, we actually save money from not buying tat and stuff we don't really need.

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Funkmaster_Flash@reddit

M&S better quality and fairly reasonable prices. I was shocked at the prices too but the fruit lasts.

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Sorry_Opportunity_81@reddit

If you’ve just got back and what you’ve purchased is rotten, take it back and ask for a refund or a replacement. I shop at Waitrose and I’ve never, ever had this issue.

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ImBonRurgundy@reddit

Issue is, if it’s just a few things, it’s not worth driving a 20+ minute round-trip to get £3 back.

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LittleSadRufus@reddit

My Waitrose has the worst possible fruit and veg. Tesco has the freshest. This issue has come up before on Reddit and it was concluded it all depends on supply lines and priorities of the logistics. You just need to figure out what's best in your area, as there's no universal rule.

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GillyGoose1@reddit

Seconding this comment. The closest supermarket to me with the best quality fruit and veg is Aldi. It beats my nearby Morrisons, Tesco and Lidl. But that's specific to my area, if I moved half way across the country there is every chance the fruit and veg from Aldi in that particular area may be quite poor and a different supermarket therefore will take the crown.

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imdonewiththisshit99@reddit

Polish supermarket seems they have no problems getting produce and rot free from Europe.

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LaraH39@reddit

Local greengrocers.

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theModge@reddit

annoyingly, I have one but their produce is if anything worse than super market. Sure it's all loose so you can (and must) go through it to find the best, but even the best ... ain't great. Crying shame, it's a lovely small business been there generations, it's just that they're used to catering to the bottom of the market and buy their stock accordingly. Pisses me off no end, I'd love to use it more. Sometimes you find gems when they've got a good deal on something, but you can't rely on it.

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jade333@reddit (OP)

I've looked, sadly nothing near me

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LaraH39@reddit

That's a shame. Have you looked to see if there are any local box deliveres? Local farms and allotments sell boxes of local fruit and veg that's been grown.

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JamesA95@reddit

Marks and Spencers

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theModge@reddit

For fruit and veg especially they do seem better than waitrose. Fresher for longer and tastier when new.

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jade333@reddit (OP)

I've been considering m&s, we just only have several small ones here so I've not been sure about the choice. But definitely worth checking out thanks

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Tropicaljet_9@reddit

Ocado sells M&S food, incl. fresh fruit and veg. The "stay fresh" dates probably aren't as long as you'd find in the actual shop but there is a minimum for each item and its easy to make a complaint online if something goes bad before it should.

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CaptainMCMLVIII@reddit

This seems to becoming a common occurrence, poor or rotten fruit n veg. There must be a root cause to it.

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thatannoyingaccount@reddit

Ever since people thought organic was a wise strategy during a period of environmental turmoil and rising prices this has been the case.

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wildernessladybug@reddit

Check your fridge. I've also got a veg drawer liner that makes a huge difference. Most of my veg lasts 2+ weeks.

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ixis743@reddit

Never heard of that. How does it work?

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wildernessladybug@reddit

Also check you’re storing your veg properly. Take everything out of the plastic when it comes into your house, stops it from sweating.

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wildernessladybug@reddit

Basically absorbs the gases released by the vegetables. Something like [this](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kitchen-Refrigerator-Antibacterial-Washable-Cabinet/dp/B096W2DJFZ/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=G1DHT7EWESE1&keywords=fridge+liners+veg+drawer&qid=1684308534&sprefix=veg+dra%2Caps%2C75&sr=8-3)

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cheeky-ninja30@reddit

Aldi... never had a bad shop and sooo much cheaper

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Roundhouse253@reddit

Asian Shops (Indian-Pakistani) often have a large range of fruit/vegetables on display where I live. Garlic, ginger, chillies, herbs second to none quite often. Lots of weird and wonderful stuff as well.

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GabberZZ@reddit

Same here. Medium sized Asian supermarket has so much veg selection and it's always better quality and more varied than the big stores.

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Comprehensive_Gap693@reddit

I've had this and tried all the shops. This is my solution- instead of big weekly shop I get fruit and veg around every 3 days. It just isn't lasting and it doesn't matter where I am getting it from. So every 3 days and then replenish.

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mandarasa@reddit

My local Waitrose has the best quality among all supermarkets. Anything I buy from Lidl goes off the next day, and they often have mouldy fruit and veg on display.

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StayFree1649@reddit

BIAS

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ELK3276@reddit

Agreed! I really do find the difference unbelievable. Lambs Lettuce from Waitrose lasted about two weeks without a sign of sogginess!

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Secret_Beginning_250@reddit

I found the same. The best solution I have found is buy in season local veg, either supermarket or local farm shop. It's not really surprising food goes off when it's travelled half way across the world over several weeks before we take it home. It's a little annoying to eat seasonally and I don't do it all the time as some fruit and veg travel better then others (ie I still buy Bananas). But overall the quality is better and it seems to last longer

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Katharinemaddison@reddit

It is a problem. The best way is, where possible, buy loose. If packaged, clear plastic where possible and really turn them around. Take out of plastic the minute you get home. If they’re rotten when you get home, take them back.

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Environmental-Row-57@reddit

Other than onions I buy all my veg frozen now. The quality is far better. And most veg comes prepped.

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Pinecone_Porcupine@reddit

I’ve started growing my own in pots/jars indoors. Mini tomatoes(yes I know they are fruits technically), a kale plant, a few leeks and herbs. That way I only have to get “hard” vegetables and these tend to not be too bad and they last a while.

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Old-Condition-119@reddit

They should refund you

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shshdoeoendbdhw@reddit

Lots of farm shops do fruit and veg boxes delivered

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BigHairyStallion_69@reddit

I always found Waitrose fruit and veg had a shorter shelf life. I reckon it's because the prices are higher which means less shoppers which means lower turnover of stock. For fruit and veg, I always choose the busiest supermarket in the area (Asda for me) as they usually have super quick turnover of stock and are more likely to be fresh.

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ixis743@reddit

Don’t buy fruit and veg from discount shops like Lidl or Aldi. Good for everything else.

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Happy-Personality-23@reddit

Buy under ripe fruit. Fruit will ripen at home so don’t go for the ready to eat stuff for your whole selection. Green bananas, hard pears etc will ripen over time making them last much longer.

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DonkeyRhubarb76@reddit

I'll always go to the local fresh market if I need a decent amount of veg. It's always far fresher than any of the supermarkets and massively better quality.

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Zerocoolx1@reddit

The guy with the fruit stall in the town centre or the village greengrocer for fruit and veg and supermarkets for other veg

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Typical_Ad_210@reddit

M&S fruit and veg is the best, IMO. But the stuff we get from Waitrose is decent too. I wonder if your local store is the issue. Co-op is decent too, but not a great range of options.

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paulywauly99@reddit

Keep fruit and veg in your fridge. It will last much longer.

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__OutOfHere_@reddit

There’s a Waitrose and Sainsbury’s across the road from each other where I live and I use both at different times for different things and have for about 8-9 years. I’ve always found Waitrose fruit and veg is of a nicer quality but does not last as long with the exception of fresh herbs for some reason.

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Capr1ce@reddit

Luckily I have a local farm shop nearby. The fruit and veg lasts muchhhhh longer than the supermarket. Unless you live in the middle of a big city there may be one around!

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weinsteins_balls@reddit

Main shop with Ocado - usually don’t fuck you with crap produce and will refund you if they do. Waitrose for last min bits on my way home from work I also buy some frozen fruit and vege for smoothies etc. They’re still really nutritious!

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ignatiusjreillyXM@reddit

Local market. We have two a week, with different stallholders on each of the days. Wednesday market is utterly reliable quality-wise for fruit and especially veg, Saturday market usually decent but more variable. Generally quite a bit cheaper than the supermarkets nearby (Sainsbury's and Waitrose)

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thesh0e92@reddit

Yeah. Thanks to Brexshit I now have to eat fruit and veg within 2 or 3 days of getting it and I cbb.

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jlelvidge@reddit

Local farmers, they need all our support after being ripped off by supermarkets constantly. Google local farms in your area

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SnooMacarons2615@reddit

Honestly I’ve been getting a fair amount of tinned / frozen. It’s also worth looking at what you buy from the fresh isles, no point getting something if it’s already on the turn irrespective of what the best before date is. Also worth looking at what is in season too as that should be better than anything imported.

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halfpintsmurf@reddit

I use my local greengrocer, the greengrocer at my local market and the local farm shop. The fruit and veg is not only better quality, but slightly cheaper and I can examine it properly as none of it is wrapped in plastic.

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Ok-Bag3000@reddit

We use Riverford, what we receive is usually of a decent quality.

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DKED_1234@reddit

Second this, if money wasn’t a factor I’d get Riverford weekly.

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Ok-Bag3000@reddit

To be honest I'm not sure it costs that much more, if at all. We get a weekly fruit bag and veg box which costs around £5 more, as an apples for apples comparison (pun intended!) with supermarket organic fruit & veg. It gets delivered to our door, it is decent quality and it lasts in our fridge longer. The addiontal £5 cost is probably what we would waste with throwing away mouldy supermarket produce that just goes bad too quickly.

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jade333@reddit (OP)

Perfect thank you I'll look into it.

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user456794535467@reddit

Abel & Cole are also very good, you can also buy other organic bits and bobs from them.

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dylsreddit@reddit

In the same vein, Oddbox is a good option too.

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TGxEra@reddit

M&S or Costco for large amounts of fruit! Never had anything bad from them

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ImpressiveGrocery959@reddit

Grow my own

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Bulky-Yam4206@reddit

Greengrocers, open air market. They have their own farm as well, family business so they do make a mint. But their produce is huge, and cheap comparatively to the supermarkets. When I have had the rare issue of bad produce, I’ve raised it with them and they go out of their way to fix it. But that hasn’t happened in… years at this point? The smaller independent places have more need to keep quality high and prices reasonable, as customers are their lifeblood imho, so start there.

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pullingteeths@reddit

I find Tesco fruit and veg really good. I see a lot more old or rotten looking stuff on the fruit and veg stalls at the market in my town square tbh

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MojoMomma76@reddit

We do most dinners from Gousto and honestly have less food waste and spend less with more variety. Other fruit and veg we buy from the local greengrocer. Appreciate not everyone will be either physically or financially able to do the same. No waste veg or fruit here.

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separatebrah@reddit

I shop in about 20 different supermarkets during a month (I'm a contractor so out and about) and I've never experienced that. I mainly shop in Sainsbury's, Tesco, Morrisons and occasionally Asda.

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DavenportPointer@reddit

Local greengrocers, they have to sell fresh otherwise they would go out of business.

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connectfourvsrisk@reddit

Controversial opinion but frozen is just as good and often better for you than fresh. It can also significantly cut down on food wastage as you are only using exactly what you need when you need it. Many bags are also recyclable now. M&S, Waitrose and even Asda have amazing frozen selections which will form great bases for most meals. Then you can save your money for the things that have to be fresh like bananas and apples\* and buy higher quality. I don't live near a supplier any more but used to use Riverford. They were food too. But would always recommend using plenty of frozen. \*If you're baking an apple pie or crumble though I recommend a tin of apple and concentrate on making a home made topping rather than buying a packet topping.

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ben_jam_in_short@reddit

Local farm.

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Technical-Elk-7002@reddit

I think it all depends on a local level, never had an issue with Waitrose, but Lidl or Aldi can be a bit hit or a miss.

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Amybonbamy@reddit

Greengrocers at the market and Asian shop. Haven't had any issues with freshness.

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tempteroffate@reddit

M&S. Quality is so much better and it’s same price or slightly cheaper than Sainsbury’s for me

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Rekabrekab@reddit

I've been using Riverford deliveries for the past year and a half. I think they do an incredible job with their fruits and vegetables. Easy website to use

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NightsisterMerrin87@reddit

There are a few companies near me that do fruit and veg boxes, which they deliver. It's more pricey, but my MIL got us one once and it was an incredible amount of food, and really fresh and nice. Might be an option?

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effefille@reddit

What about a veg box delivery? I used a local one for a while, it was great!

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Crafty_Birdie@reddit

Try a veg box delivery. Riverford deliver throughout the south - everything is far fresher than the shops. They also sell things separately so you don’t have to have a box, but can put together your own order, it’s very flexible. Abel and Cole also deliver through a lot of the south. If you are in the North just try Googling veg box delivery plus where you live - you’re likely to find at least one these days.

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Farscape_rocked@reddit

Local greengrocers. Their stuff is clearly marked as either local or where it's from, they do seasonal stuff really well so the stuff that's local and in season is really good and really cheap.

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thegamesender1@reddit

You are not supposed to just look at the date, you are supposed to check if it is ripe and not squishy.

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deleted_by_reddit@reddit

[removed]

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TripleGarlic@reddit

To add, food inflation was at 18% in the UK recently. It accounts for six percent overall. Fucking Quitters.

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ZookeepergameOk2759@reddit

The tomatoes and onions are tiny now I’ve noticed

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DontCatchThePigeon@reddit

The greengrocer in the nearest town drops off to the door on his way home, you can pick what you want and as a bonus he sometimes drops off extras if he thinks we'll want to try something new or he's got stuff that's about to go off because he knows we'll use it. That said, we've been buying a lot more frozen veg lately, the things that we might not always use up in time - mushrooms for example, or that's a pain to prep like butternut squash.

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stoki33@reddit

All the veg i've ever bought from marks & spencers has been absolutely perfect. Tesco second best markets will probably always be your best bet outside that.

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flabwahn@reddit

me and my partner have this problem. if its not the same day its always a few days afterwards they go rotten. we check the dates thoroughly and the veg itself but we always agree that food seems to be rotting quicker.

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jagracer2021@reddit

Go to Aldi, Lidl or Sainsbury. Sainsbury is better for freshness than Aldi, and they price match each other. I will give you a clue, the packages nowadays have a strip of some chemical under the product which keeps it from going off until you open the package plastic [film.You](https://film.You) might get better from an app giving you end of date produce and cakes, try TooGoodToGo App.

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lord_winnish@reddit

Local farm company delivers mine. £15/week and it’s incredible

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Phantom_Dave@reddit

Find a grocer if you can or a local farm shop, is like butchers, you may pay a little more but a good one will easily beat supermarket in quality, timing can be a bit more awkward but I find sacrificing a few hours Saturday morning or my lunch break is more than worth it

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Regular-mo@reddit

Always M&S it’s reasonably priced and lasts two weeks sometimes!

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karlware@reddit

If you have an indie local supermarket their stuff is a lot better than the big supermarkets.

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jade333@reddit (OP)

That's a good shout, we do have several big ones here. Thanks

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ForwardAd5837@reddit

Lidl and Aldi typically buy most of their stock from the 3-classified rejects that other buyers turn down at auction. They wait until lots have typically been decided as inedible or the very least unsellable (sometimes purely for cosmetic reasons in all fairness) and then lowball purchase once the bigger buyers are out of the auctions. They do buy direct from source for certain things, but buying like the above is what powers the super 6 section and why both seem to have odd things completely missing from their fresh produce sections on certain days; they weren’t able to get any at auction for a reasonable price. Most of what they buy has been stored for over a week before it even gets to their packaging set up.

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destria@reddit

I go to a local farm shop but luckily I WFH so I normally pop out to get things on my lunch break. I used to go on a Saturday though when I worked in an office. Prices are actually very competitive and in some cases cheaper than the supermarket. The only thing is the selection, you have to get used to eating more seasonally.

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Significant_Froyo899@reddit

Aldi is good

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LongjumpingCurve1869@reddit

Never heard of it..

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LongjumpingCurve1869@reddit

Never heard of it..

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djbrux@reddit

Time of year means lots of stuff is from storage from last season….

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Rubber_jimmy@reddit

grow your own.. wont be optional soon.

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jade333@reddit (OP)

As the owner of a flat.... I wish. And I can't lug a toddler and newborn to an allotment all the time.

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Rubber_jimmy@reddit

grow tent dude.

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BroodLord1962@reddit

Hang on, you are picking the stuff yourself but don't even look to see if it's OK? Supermarkets deal in vast quantities of food so it's always worth looking at what you pick up. But if you want good quality, try finding a local farm shop and check out what they have, you may also notice a difference in the quality of taste

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Great_Cucumber2924@reddit

I get stuff delivered and if I open it in time, I can give it back to the driver and get a full refund. If one from a pack is damaged or rotten they let you keep the whole pack so you can use the rest but they’re free. It’s very rare there’s a problem though. I only buy organic fruit, and spinach only organic, maybe that helps too.

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whoops53@reddit

I had this issue as well, and switched to frozen veggies and fruit to see how that worked in terms of taste etc. Its going ok so far, so maybe look at that for a while?

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MrDibbsey@reddit

Don't have a problem with Morrisons, but I'll add that those that are available to pick from loose I do so to get the best ones as I can.

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Sad_Discount89@reddit

The stuff I get from Sainsbury's lasts a while, and I can do a whole weekly shop in about £90 with cider added to it. But if I wasn't to go to a supermarket I'd go to farmhouse fayre

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ThirdOfTheStorms84@reddit

Honestly just Sainsbury’s here, we shop for the week and never had an issue with it going off before it’s used.

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_hsquared@reddit

Just signed up to Riverford organic veg boxes a few weeks ago - really good quality so far!

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Relenq@reddit

I get frozen 90% of the time and it works for me, as well as side-stepping most of the prepping issues. There are a few things that I find don't work well (mushrooms have always been ridiculously watery no matter what I do) so those rare occasions I buy fresh and check packaging Obviously this isn't a solution for eating fresh vs. cooking or processing the fruit and veg (you don't want to be snacking on defrosted raspberries) but it helps me a little

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Alarmed_Crazy_6620@reddit

Riper fruit and veg will taste better and have a shorter shelf life. Watirose is probably at least partially optimising for taste, being all premium and whatnot. Try cheaper supermarkets.

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justabean27@reddit

Are you storing your produce right?

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AstronautFluffy8710@reddit

Sorry are you saying your food went off on the same day that you purchased it? Cause that’s crazy, either your car is very very hot or the food was already off. My fruit and veg generally lasts a week at least and I don’t do anything special with it. It used to last longer. I get that it might vary across the country. I think there are things you can do to keep veg fresher for longer (e.g maybe certain veg are better in water?)

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jade333@reddit (OP)

I checked most of when I was buying it, but the stuff in packets you can't see through was clearly already mouldy.

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JBEqualizer@reddit

Tesco. I've never had any issues with fruit and veg going off quickly, and on the rare occasion, I've come across something rotten. It's only ever been a couple of strawberries, etc, out of a whole punnet.

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Individual-Tank2022@reddit

Just lift up the crate and take the fresh stock, or reach behind and check the expiry dates. Everything definitely does not expire within 3 days.

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Flowers330@reddit

I asked the shops for the info to interpret the new codes since they took away the dates and now spend time making sure I get stuff that is freshest if it needs to last. Red onions are the hardest to get still, slightly better the last half a year but still very often finding they are all bad in a fresh three pack. I used to use a local green grocers which was excellent but I havent found anything quite comparable in most places since.

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EveryTopSock@reddit

Mu town has an indoor market open most days and they have a couple of excellent grocers, that's where I go. If you live in a big town there must be grocers about?

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saladinzero@reddit

I check my fruit and veg in the shop, and if it has a bad date or is rotten, I don't buy it.

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Urbanyeti0@reddit

Aldi, but I spend 10-30 seconds per item checking them in the store so I don’t waste my time and money buying goods that aren’t edible

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