AUTUMN EDITORIAL 2020

I am at home currently with my three boys, five and under, as I take my period of parental leave. As with little ones much of the day revolves around feeding them – generally advisable to ensure said small people remain viable.

As we live rurally on a small lifestyle block our vegetables are sourced from online shopping (no plugs here) and from what we grow in our vegetable gardens. It must be noted that being a seeds person certainly does not make you a grower despite the excellent genetics I have on hand from the SPS trial bins.

I guess having been immersed in the produce business for some time vegetables have always played a significant role in our diet and we would commonly have four vegetables as part of our evening meal. Therefore, when I shop for my produce it never crosses my mind to not purchase fresh produce or to reduce what I buy. I am of course conscious of seasonality and therefore the impact on price when I am shopping and have my limits when it comes to a single capsicum or cauliflower. But in general fresh produce is an essential non-negotiable part of our grocery spend.

Unfortunately, it would seem for many that produce is still seen as an expensive option when considering the weekly grocery spend. I was interested to read in our local Franklin County News (5th December, “Families square off in financial challenge”) about two families who were competing for the title of “Biggest Winner” through implementing budget cuts particularly around water and electricity use and grocery spend.

The comment from one family was “We’ve got three children under five…but my 10-month old has just started solids… I don’t want to buy them cheap chips and biscuits. But things like apples can be expensive but we try to buy the cheapest ones or buy from (second grade) stores.”

Whilst I understand household income etc... all comes into play it still is such a shame that our fresh produce is seen as an unaffordable option. This of course then creates a myriad of other issues in relation to “cost” as a result of poor diet.

It would be great if in my lifetime we can see a change in how consumers across all levels of society view the affordability of produce thereby creating healthier New Zealanders as a result.