I paid £3 for two boxes of food at Lidl – the amount inside was overwhelming

Daily Mirror

2 days ago

Lidl are releasing boxes of mixed fruit and vegetables for £1.50
Food shopping is a necessary expense, and we're all on the hunt for ways to save a few quid where possible. From crafting grocery lists to being strategic about where you shop, there are several methods to keep the cost of a weekly shop in check.
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Always on the prowl for a good deal, savvy shopping writer Ray Bonsall was thrilled to discover that Lidl offers a box of assorted fruit and vegetables for just £1.50. These boxes provide a variety of 'too good to waste' items at a significantly lower price.
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Ray shared: "Always on the lookout for a good bargain, I was excited to learn that Lidl sells a box of mixed fruit and vegetables for just £1.50. The boxes offer a selection of 'too good to waste' items for a much cheaper price, reported the Liverpool Echo.
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"I've tried my luck with other anti-food waste schemes before, including the Too Good To Go app, which allows shops, cafes and restaurants to sell surplus food for a much lower price. I've generally found them to be generous and well worth the cost, so I was keen to give Lidl's box a try.
She continued, "I set my alarm bright and early for 7 a.m., keen to avoid the boxes selling out. I arrived at the Lidl on Lime Street at 8:30 a.m. However, a friendly colleague told me to come back in 45 minutes as they were still preparing the fruit and veg. I was surprised that there didn't seem to be anyone else waiting around for the boxes."
Ray was surprised that there didn't seem to be anyone else hanging around for the boxes. While she waited, she decided to try her luck at the Lidl on London Road, but was informed there weren't any boxes available.
A staff member explained that while the boxes are usually available daily, they had a large stock assessment the previous day, selling around 20 boxes, meaning they didn't have any surplus stock today. However, he mentioned that most days boxes go on sale at around 8:30am.
Ray went on to say, "I went back to Lime Street, and at around 9:15am, the boxes were ready. They hadn't been put out but I asked a colleague who brought two out for me having remembered that I'd been by earlier on. It seems it's worth double checking with staff if you can't see any displayed.
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"I bought two boxes, which were £1.50 each, bringing my total shop to £3. It seems it's worth having a word with staff if you can't see any on display. I purchased two boxes at £1.50 each, bringing my total spend to £3.
"When the boxes arrived, I was overwhelmed by how much was inside. I could barely carry the two boxes, which were brimming with a wide variety of fruit and vegetables from apples to aubergines.
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"Taking a closer look at the produce, all of the items were still fresh, and most had a good few days left in them. A few items, like some of the peppers and the courgettes, were smaller than normal shelf stock, and the aubergine was on the riper side."
Ray noted carrots were also smaller, and some had been knocked about a bit, but they were still perfectly fresh and suitable for cooking. The rest of the produce was just as I'd expect from any regular fruit and veg shop. A few of the peppers were massive.
The apples and even the bananas were unblemished and perfectly ripe.
Here's everything I got in each box:
Box 1
Four bananas
Six red apples
One aubergine
One small courgette
One celery
Three large bell peppers (red, orange and yellow).
Approximately 20 small potatoes.
Approximately 20 small carrots.
Box 2
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Five bananas
Six green apples
One aubergine
One courgette
Five peppers (mixed sizes)
One celery
Approximately 20 potatoes (mixed sizes)
Approximately 20 small carrots
A generous handful of green chillies
Using Tesco's website, she calculated that purchasing the same items in the first box would have set her back around £8.01. The second box would have cost approximately £11.84. So, for a mere £3, she managed to snag nearly £20 worth of groceries.
Ray concluded: "This doesn't take into account some of the smaller sizes, however, I still walked away feeling like I had secured a great amount of food for what I spent. Anything I don't use in the next few days I'll stick in the freezer.
"It's also a great way of encouraging people not to dismiss food just because it is doesn't look the biggest or shiniest. A small pepper is still a pepper after all. It also saves endless thinking about what to eat and for the next week my meal planning will be dictated by what's in the box - so far aubergine curry, baked potatoes, potato salad, fried courgette spaghetti and carrot soup spring to mind."