Kiwis’ home-grown eating habits exposed by Paper Plus

Media release
4th September 2012

Kiwis’ home-grown eating habits exposed by Paper Plus

Aucklanders aren’t eating their home-grown veges, says a survey of Kiwi vege patches.

5.6% of Aucklanders admit they never eat produce grown at their place of residence, compared to 4.3% of Wellingtonians or 0.9% of Nelsonites.

At the other end of the scale, 28.7% of people in Marlborough say they eat something home-grown every day, closely followed by Northland (28.2%) and Nelson (26.9%).

To celebrate the launch of Annabel Langbein’s latest cookbook, Annabel Langbein The Free Range Cook: Simple Pleasures Paper Plus conducted research into New Zealanders’ behaviours and attitudes towards home-grown produce and asked what their number one simple pleasure would be.

According to the study, almost 80% of all respondents throughout New Zealand eat home-grown produce at least once a month or more. For those who never ate home grown produce the main reason was they didn’t have a garden, and more than 20% stated that it was due to a lack of time.

Now, with the launch of the long-awaited cookbook titled Annabel Langbein The Free Range Cook: Simple Pleasures, New Zealanders can draw inspiration and educate themselves about the benefits of eating healthy, home-grown foods.

The cookbook will be available exclusively at all Paper Plus stores from the 8th to 22nd September, two weeks before any other retailer.

The 13-week TV series that accompanies the new book will screen in primetime on TV One, starting in late September.

Annabel Langbein says that in today’s increasingly complicated world, there is a tendency for people to overlook the benefits of eating simple, whole foods that are home-grown.

“Nothing beats the feeling of slicing into a ripe tomato straight from your garden, or chopping up an aromatic stem of rosemary. These are the simple pleasures we build our lives around, and in my new book, I aim to share the joys of simple living with New Zealanders.”

“A simple pleasure means something different to everyone, yet something as small as sharing a meal around the dining table has the power to bring us all together and gives a sense of belonging,” adds Annabel.

The research showed that more than half of respondents do not sit around the table every day to eat as a family and 42.1% use pre-prepared ingredients such as pre-chopped, frozen or canned vegetables as opposed to using fresh produce.

Paper Plus Marketing Manager, Lyle Hastings says that Annabel’s latest book highlights the small ways in which we can change these habits and increase our knowledge around eating fresh, home-grown produce.

“Annabel has a fantastic way of making something so simple, look and taste amazing and her book means that readers will have no trouble doing the same at home with friends and family. Our customers are keen followers of Annabel’s books and of her journey as The Free Range Cook so we are very excited to be able to offer the book exclusively at Paper Plus stores from 8 to 22 September. ”

Paper Plus also asked respondents what their number one simple pleasure would be. ‘A novel you get lost in’ came out tops followed by ‘Random Acts of Kindness’, ‘A perfect cup of hot coffee in the morning’ and ‘fresh flowers’.

Other key statistics from the research include:

• 47.2% sit around the dining table everyday to eat a meal as a family
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• 38.7% think the main advantage of growing produce at home is that it tastes better
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• Auckland was closely followed by Taranaki with the highest number of respondents stating they never eat home grown produce.
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• Nelson residents consider family meals at the table to be a very important part of their day (52.5% of respondents said they sat at the table with family every day).
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