How Lockdown changed our shopping baskets, and we fell back in love with Local
Anne Harnan
Before C-virus forced us into lockdown, our food shopping trends were often spontaneous. Many of us would take various trips to the shops each week: perhaps a large food shop and then ad hoc top ups on the way home from work. Add in takeaways whenever we felt like it, leading to throwing out the wasted food at the end of the week.
In the last six months, we’ve had to think more carefully about our food purchases, with fewer trips to the supermarkets, perhaps more use of smaller local shops, and cooking creatively with what we had in. Recent research by wrap.org.uk has identified some surprisingly positive results in our food shopping and kitchen habits over this time.
Their reports in Spring and Summer 2020 identified new ‘Food-Smart’ trends that showed a real revival in good food management skills – home economics as our grandparents would have known it. It was apparent we all rushed to buy flour so we could bake at home, but we were also cooking more creatively and ‘from scratch’, using up leftovers, reducing food waste, planning our shopping trips, and organising our food storage better.
At the supermarkets, we bought less convenience foods. Ready-meal sales dropped, as did short shelf-life foods like bagged salads. Instead we bought robust longer-life veg like carrots, radish and cabbage.
Ruth Gibbons, UK liaison for the International Federation of Home Economics (www.ifhe.org.uk) has thoughts on this resurgence of food and home management behaviour.
“In the UK, domestic science or home economics at school has given way in recent years to food technology. A generation has learnt about the design of a meal as product, rather than food preparation skills and planning. This is not the case in other countries - Ireland and Australia still have a vibrant Home Economics scene, as does Germany. Most notably, it’s the developing countries that have a huge membership of the Federation. Where there are limited supplies, home economics skills are a valuable management tool of resources.”
So perhaps a lesson for us all in living more sustainably in the future? Ruth agrees, “My hope for the future, is that lockdown will have re-generated our smaller communities, encouraging people to shop locally, buying stocks from sources close to them – knowing where their food comes from.”
Maybe the future of learning basic food management skills is through the media? Chris Bavin, author and TV presenter of BBC’s Eat Well for Less programme, helps families struggling with shopping economically and scratch-cooking. He would encourage people to have more confidence in the kitchen.
“We need to be kinder to ourselves and persevere in the kitchen. You don’t need to be a top chef to be able to pull together tasty food. With regard to food storage we can definitely be better at using our freezers. Milk, cheese and bread: these are the key foods which are often thrown away, yet they can all be frozen. Use your freezer properly, stocking it well and not like a museum.”
With experience of being a greengrocer and wholesaler himself, Chris is also passionate about buying from local producers and eating seasonally. He sees the difference that independent retailers have made over lockdown. They are much better placed to be flexible and in touch with their customer.
“We’ve seen how little it took to disrupt our supplies, with the empty shelves at the start of lockdown. We need to have a Plan B - if it wasn’t for the independent sector we would have been caught out. Without our high street and independent shops, what would we have done? And this could easily happen again post-Brexit. We need to look inwardly at our own supply chains within the UK. These are the people that will provide support. They looked after us when we needed them and we should be grateful and support them in return.”
Nationwide, each community has its own new Food Heroes - the companies who worked tirelessly over lockdown, providing box schemes and deliveries when people couldn’t get out to the shops. We have responded by using the local shops more and creating a better circular economy.
Kathryn Nicholson, of Nicholsons Butchers, Whitley Bay and a member of the Q Guild of Butchers knows this only too well. They were snowed under at the start of lockdown and she spent over 13 hours on the phone one day, taking orders from worried customers who wanted to be sure they could get what they needed.
Kathryn explained, “For us, there were really no issues with getting supplies: we have extremely good relationships with all our suppliers, and we were always able to fulfil the orders. We may have had to limit numbers per customer, but no one went without. I felt very supported by our local producers and we have good understandings with them all – I’m very proud of how we coped and what we achieved.
Since lockdown eased, business remains good – approx. 8% up on last year. We’ve had to respond by changing our hours and shop times, ensuring staff get proper breaks each week – plus we needed the time to simply restock shelves.”
Did she see customers wanting to cook more creatively? “For the first six weeks of lockdown, customers were definitely cooking more and they’ve always come to us for cooking and recipe advice. But then they returned to our prepared products, looking for new inspiration. We still have our loyal, elderly customers, who pop by Monday-Thursday, but the trend we’ve seen is that the under 45’s want speed and convenience and shop nearer the weekend. We’ve started a click and collect service and online ordering is perfect for them. Our next challenge will be facilitating the Christmas rush, when we’re limited to just 2 customers in the shop at one time. Hopefully our new online ordering systems will manage that.
I really believe that overall it has made us a better business – we are more reactive in our approach and I feel buoyant for the future - investing in the online technology will help bring in the younger generation.”
It’s great that the UK’s ‘Nation of Shopkeepers’ is so agile and flexible to react quickly. But Lockdown showed us that our modern, convenient supply chains can be fragile. Buying from British farmers and producers can cut out the middle man and shorten the chain. Even as we re-fill our diaries with appointments and busy-ness, if we can retain just a few Food-Smart habits, we can live more sustainably, support our local economy and the British food and farming industry. If there is a like-for-like choice of products on offer, whether it’s apples, plums, chicken or meat, choose the ones labelled ‘British’, and be proud of making a difference.
- Anne Harnan is a home economist and food consultant. She is an ambassador for Love British Food www.harnan.co.uk
New Paragraph
Share:
You may also be interested in...
Our Journey So Far
Yeovil District Hospital (YDH) are committed to improving the care experience for their patients, staff, and visitors. They have an innovative approach to improving meal provision, with a special focus on tackling malnutrition and dehydration, streamlining meal delivery, and enhancing both the patient and customer experience. Through strategic improvements in menu design, waste management, and patient-centric service, the hospital catering team has successfully met the challenge of providing nutritious, appealing meals that cater to the diverse needs of the hospital community. As part of their commitment to sustainability, a comprehensive waste reduction initiative that targets food waste at all stages of meal provision—from kitchen preparation to patient plated and unserved meals was introduced. By partnering with food service providers and leveraging technology, they implemented real-time waste tracking, allowing them to identify inefficiencies and reduce unnecessary food wastage. Additionally, they transitioned to biodegradable, recyclable meal packaging, reducing their carbon footprint and contributing to the hospital’s broader environmental goals. The Catering team have come a long way in recent years, demonstrating fantastic improvement for not only patients, staff but also visitors, with many changes including waste, improving service levels and patient/customer experiences. The in-house service has seven chefs at working YDH included in the team of over 40 staff, the Catering department has grown in recent years with the influence from new management with Catering and Hospitality background. The use of local and seasonal provisions are used to write menus for both patients, staff and visitors, has not only reduced costs but also reduced Caterings carbon footprint & sustainability in food, the catering team work closely with suppliers in the KPI monthly meetings to talk about seasonal provisions Regular monthly meets between the Catering and the Dietitians was implemented back in 2018 and has paid dividends, with both departments working closer together for patient nutrition and hydration, the chefs work with the dietitians on menus to make sure there is a well-balanced menu (remember food is medicine) the newly appointed Catering Liaison Officer (CLO) in 2023 is the link between the Catering and Dietitians but also the patients. The CLO carries out weekly surveys from staff and visitors, including speaking directly with the patients on the wards, this has allowed the Catering team to make changes by listening to the feedback, it gives the team a better understanding of what is and isn’t liked from the most popular meals to the not so popular meals and what sides of vegetables go with what main courses, this also helps with portion sizes and waste, there is also a suggestion box in the staff canteen as well as QR codes for feedback. Menus at YDH are written 8 days in advance by the chefs, with the use of seasonal provisions, using local British ingredients from local suppliers. The chefs working closely with the Dietitians in the monthly meetings, write varied well-balanced menus, dried herbs are banned in the kitchen with the chefs having their own herb garden outside in the seating area. The patient-centric strategy focuses on creating the environment where the needs, preferences, and experiences of patients are at the heart of every decision made. This approach improves outcomes, enhances patient satisfaction, and drives better care delivery, the team commitment is consistently communicated of the importance of a patient-centred approach which will keep improving patient outcomes and experiences. The Catering team have regular training sessions, encouraging staff to take an active role in enhancing the patient experience by providing them the tools and autonomy to solve patient issues quickly and effectively, by phone or in person. Part of the Catering Liaison’s Officers role is to work with not only dietitians but clinical staff, working together on patients care plans, which includes their nutrition and hydration. A newly refurbished staff canteen called the Breeze Café offers a clean, quiet, and accessible facilities including a garden (in the summer) for staff, visitors and patients to visit and enjoy the talented chefs’ delights, from the Deli-bar to Asian Thursday and a fantastic carvery with three meats and proper homemade gravy every Wednesday and Sunday is a must try. Focusing on mealtimes, the Catering team work closely with the Housekeepers who serve the food at ward level ensuring the service of meal times run as smooth as possible, with late meals being delivered for any patient outside of lunch or supper times, digital meal time ordering as close to meal times not only ensures the patient gets what they ordered, it has helped reduce food waste and efficiency. The development of a QR code system where patients can look at the coming weeks menu, with pictures and nutritional information will be rolled out for 2025.
Love British Food is delighted to announce that its unique podcast series has been shortlisted for the prestigious Marketing Award at the 2025 Public Sector Catering Awards, marking a significant recognition just one year after its launch. Led by Derek Wright, Director of Love British Food and Head of Catering at Blackpool Local Authority, and expertly edited by Georgina Wright, the podcast has quickly gained recognition for tackling some of the most pressing and complex issues in the UK food supply chain. Since its debut, the Love British Food podcast has featured engaging and thought-provoking conversations with voices from across the sector, including caterers, farmers, chefs, procurement leads, educators and public sector leaders. Episodes have explored everything from sustainability and supply chain resilience to the challenges of delivering nutritious British food in schools and hospitals. Each episode concludes with a popular seasonal food feature led by Ben Bartlett, Director of Love British Food and Director of Master Chefs GB, highlighting the importance and versatility of local seasonal British ingredients. Episodes start with an update from our resident farmer, Sam Mallinson who is a 3rd generation arable farmer from Lancashire. Sam shares monthly updates about his family farm in Lancashire. Commenting on the news, Alexia Robinson, Founder of Love British Food, said: “This shortlisting is a fantastic achievement and a real testament to the energy, honesty and passion that goes into every episode. Huge congratulations to Derek and Georgina, our Farmer-in-Residence Sam, and of course Ben Bartlett for creating something truly original. These podcasts are the first to really cover the full farm-to-fork journey, through insightful conversations with the people who keep our food system going. We’re proud to be giving them a platform.” The awards ceremony will take place on Thursday 24th April at the Hilton London Metropole, where winners will be revealed in a celebration of excellence across the public sector catering landscape. Podcast links: https://www.lovebritishfood.co.uk/podcasts
On a crisp morning in the heart of Argyll and Bute, the small community schools on Islay and Jura are buzzing with excitement. In the lunch hall of Small Isles Primary, a group of children eagerly line up to try something new - a plate of wild venison meatballs, freshly prepared and sourced from the very hills surrounding their homes. This is not just another school meal - this is the future of sustainable, locally sourced food in action. The groundbreaking pilot project, launched in partnership with Argyll and Bute Council, Wild Jura, and Food for Life Scotland, aims to bring the rich flavours of Scotland’s wild larder to school children while promoting sustainability and supporting the local economy.
Our Prime Minister Keir Starmer was quoted in an interview last week by saying voters must choose between a 'tax break' for farmers or tackle the NHS backlogs. How about our government invests in farming and start to revolutionise the food system to produce highly nutritious food in more accessible places and affordable avenues to ultimately reduce the consumption of ultra processed foods and to deduct revenue and profit from the large corporations who are contributing to the current obesity and mental health crisis? Surely the corporate fat cats are morally and directly responsible for the heavy burden upon our NHS? Jenny Jefferies explores further the widening gap between farmer and consumer for Love British Food…
Love British Food and No Farmers, No Food are delighted to announce a partnership dedicated to promoting British farmers. Together, they will champion initiatives to ensure British food is the primary choice in public institutions and push for fair supermarket pricing that reflects the true value of our farmers' hard work.
Love British Food, the leading organisation promoting British food at grassroots and industry levels, is delighted to announce the appointment of Cathy Amos as Non-Executive Director. Cathy, who currently holds the position of Head of Customer Marketing at Brakes, is celebrated for her extensive experience in the food service sector, particularly within the public sector which is integral to Love British Food's mission. Cathy Amos has devoted her career to the food and hospitality industry, with a focus over the last decade on supporting caterers in public and care settings. At Brakes, she leads a team of development chefs who specialise in these sectors. She has also collaborated closely with leading contract caterers and various public sector bodies, including PSC, LACA, TUCO, NACC, and the HCA. She joins other non-executive directors: Derek Wright (Blackpool Catering), Tim Radcliffe (NHS England) and Ben Bartlett (Master Chefs GB).
Our family business, the British Hamper Company, was founded in 2014 by our eldest son James, together with my husband and me.
