Where to Buy Your Veggies in France

In France, the magazine Que Choisir is dedicated to looking at products and making recommendations to consumers on which are the best value. They have spent some time researching whether it is best to buy your fruit and vegetables from the supermarket or buying from shops and markets where the products are locally sourced. Their conclusion is that buying local produce with low food miles (Fr. circuit court) is much cheaper, despite a persistent public perception to the contrary.

 

My  local organic farm shop getting into the spirit of Halloween.

The supermarkets like to present themselves as protecting the purchasing power of the consumer, but the evidence suggests otherwise. Even organic fruit and veg is cheaper in the little local shops. 

 

My local organic market garden shop. There is a Michelin starred chef in this picture plus a serious foodie. Good to know I shop in such company.

Food in general has increased in price by more than 10% on average over the last year. Que Choisir showed that a selection of 28 fruit and vegetables with low food miles cost €104, whereas the same products cost €110 in a 'grande surface alimentaire'. The gap was even bigger for organic, which was €127 for locally grown against €144 from the supermarket. Que Choisir points out that not only to you benefit from cheaper prices if you shop locally, but you will benefit from freshness, quality and seasonality. The producers live in your community or the adjoining one, and will benefit from a fairer price. 

 My local organic market garden shop.

Shops that meet the criteria as stocking local food must sell a sufficient variety of fruit and veg, and at least 70% must be sourced locally. They have to be a physical shop, and open at least two days a week. You can find such retailers by using the interactive map developed by INRAE (the French National Agronomy Research Institute). Click here.

 

Organic heirloom tomatoes at my local market garden shop.

Studies show that supermarkets continue to put a significant margin on fruit and vegetables, and an even bigger one on organic produce.

 

These onions from the supermarket were grown in Australia, although the company supplying them is French.

Of course, it does depend a bit on exactly which products we are talking about. Button mushrooms, walnuts, washed carrots, pumpkins and sweet potatoes are all much the same price whether in the supermarket or an independent local shop. The supermarket is more expensive for garlic, turnips, endives, shallots, Florence fennel, cauliflower, spinach and lettuces, but cheaper for clementines, cabbage, leeks and broccoli.

 

Celery, cauliflower, broccoli and carrots at my local organic market garden shop.

The Que Choisir study was conducted between 25 November and 9 December.  They visited 371 independent shops in 60 départements (counties) all over France, and checked the prices online for 4500 supermarkets (Auchan, Carrefour, Casino, Cora, E.Leclerc, Intermarché, Système U and Monoprix). The fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables chosen were garlic, beetroot, broccoli, butternut pumpkin, washed carrots, unwashed carrots, button mushrooms, white cabbage, cauliflower, clementine, shallots, endive, spinach, Florence fennel, yellow and green kiwi fruit, turnip, onion, sweet potato, leek, kuri squash, iceberg lettuce, oak-leaf lettuce, apple, walnut, celery, potato, pear.

 

Turnips, cauliflower, radishes, celery, potatoes, mushrooms and leeks at my local organic vegetables farm shop.

Here is the link to the Que Choisir report (in French).

 

Vegetables in a French supermarket.

Fruit in a French supermarket.