Caitríona Redmond: Why I buy directly from a farmer plus my recipe for slow cooker stew

"Our mindset needs to change so that we can stay on budget while supporting local producers and retailers."

You can use the cheapest cut of beef you can buy at the butchers for this slow cooker stew recipe

There was news recently that inflation in the cost of grocery items had eased. Technically this means that the rate increase has slowed but that costs are still increasing. Even though the price of food is still heading upwards we all naturally feel a little more optimistic from this chink of light.

In the past couple of weeks, several supermarkets reduced the cost of staple shopping basket items like milk and butter. Interestingly, the first significant discounts of several months have been for dairy products and it appears they are loss leaders for the grocery giants. The cost of the reduction will not be borne by food producers yet.