Does anyone have any tips, suggestions or input when it comes to attemption to be a more concious shopper and consuming more local products in the illawarra?
Thanks!

Hi there, what a great topic. I admit I do my shopping at Woolworths, but I always take my own bags and I Iavoid buying fruit that is transported for miles and miles from other countries. Sometimes the oranges and manadrins and cherries come from the USA. I read the labels and avoid buying them ,looking for the Aussie ones or buying an alternative. There is always the markets in the Wollongong mall on Fridays, which sells local produce. I have never been to the markets at the German club, but I belive you can buy fresh produce there Saturday mornings. There is also the Black Beach markets once a month I think in Kiama and the monthly markets in Berry - 1st Sunday of the month. Of course, the problem is, if you work full time like me, you don't have time to run around to all these places to buy food!

Those "produce markets" annoy me - many of the sellers are just stocking up at the Sydney markets and reselling fruit and vegies. It's not the "local produce" most people are expecting.

thanks for the replies!

on a side note, I went to Leisure coast fruit market the other day. I like shopping there but i really don't like how many plastic bags you are forced to use with their bucket system. Any ideas on ways around using so many bags? I have kept all the bags so i can reuse them- but thats not the best solution as the bags will get dirty and old, and its tedious drying them out and folding up 15 bags...
i was thinking of sewing some mesh bags in the colours they use and using them instead? they'll think i'm a weirdo but thats Ok.. LOL
any other ideas?

Shop at a co-op! Buy your food from bulk bins using your own packaging. A new co-op is opening in Thirroul in the next few weeks. Website is www.flametreecoop.org.au (under construction but there is something there). You can join the mailing list by emailing flametreecoop@gmail.com.

By the way, there is nothing wrong with being a weirdo when standing up for the environment. Making your own mesh bags sounds like a great idea! It might inspire others to do the same and send a message to the staff at Leisure Coast that customers aren't happy with their excessive plastic bag usage.

I like shopping at Leisure Coast but I also hate those plastic bucket bags. I used to reuse them, but they are colour coded for price, so it's a bit hard. I then started to use them for my cats poo tray at home, so at least they ae being reused. But I haven't shopped there for a ong time now. I don't care about being a weirdo! I shop at Woolies now - I rarely use plastic bags. I am only shoppng for two - so often I buy 2 oranges, 2 apples, 2 peaches etc - I just put them in the trolley = no plastic bag at all. At the chekout, the girls sometimes put my BBQ chook or the watermelon in a separate plastic bag before putting it in my reuable bag - if I catch them, I say no plastic bags please. One day while going through the checkout with my hubby, I ran out of reusable bags. I was still unpacking the trolley and hadn't realised and my hubby was waiting at the end of the checkout, when I realised the girl was starting to put my items into a plastic bag, I said no, I don't want plastic bags. My hubby says - oh, it doesn't matter and I saidYes it does! I made a bit of a scene but I din't care! I whipped out the spare bag I always carry in my handbag, unpacked the plastic bag stuff into it and handed back the plastic bag! I hate being behind people in the checkout who use plastic bags - I feel like donating my reusable bags to them! But I know they probably have a stash at home or in the boot of their car.

i also don't usually don't bag my fruit and veg at all, except grapes and maybe peas and beans.

i got some of the bags they are selling in wollworths at the moment which are 5 for $5, they fold up very small and are very light- much more user friendly than other bulkier alternatives because its very easy to keep 5 in your handbag at all times and never be without reusable bags. i can highly reccomend them.

I've got some of those Onya Weigh lightweight mesh bags. They're great for buying fruit and veg.

I also enjoy Leisure Coast for my fruit and veg but I'm resisting the plastic bag usage. I take my own calico bags around and just take the fruit or veg items loose in my different bags to the counter. The ladies don't seem to like it so much because its slightly more time consuming for them to collect up the peices of fruit etc instead of just picking up the bag, but if we were all doing it they would get used to it and overcome there issue. After all, its for a much more important and bigger cause than employee convenience!

Hi Emma-
If you do that you would be really screwing with their system. Its colour coded by the bags. Thats why they do it. The granny smiths in a blue bag are a different price per kilo than the ones in the white bag.
eg. When you go to the check out, they see a yellow bag, they look in the bag and see zuchinnis then on their computer they press "zuchinnis - yellow" and it knows the price.
I'd suggest if you want to do what you are doing you get calico bags in the varios colours that they use (white, yellow, blue and green- i think sometimes red too?) and at least you can help them by telling them which "colour" the produce is.
I woudl assume you are paying the price per kilo of the most expensive of each item if they can't distinguish if you have the $1.99 apples or the $4.99 apples.