Last week, potatoes went \u201cmushy\u201d in the cupboard, he said, and last month he cut open a watermelon to find it was rancid inside. <\/p>\n
\u201cI literally threw away a whole watermelon; it was around $12.<\/p>\n
\u201cA few times I\u2019ve bought potatoes and get them home and go and grab one and my finger goes through it because it\u2019s mushy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is constantly happening now.<\/p>\n
\u201cFood quality is piss-poor while prices keep going up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bettridge said he and his partner, who are both self-employed, shop conservatively, look for specials and buy low-cost bread for school lunches.<\/p>\n
They have a tunnel house, grow their own vegetables and have chickens which lay eggs, and Bettridge said he fishes when he can.<\/p>\n
They don\u2019t eat red meat anymore because it\u2019s too expensive.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m at the point where I\u2019m so frustrated with Woolies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFruit and vegetables are so unreliable now in this town, I almost want to turn to only frozen or tinned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe quality of the produce since it changed from Countdown to Woolworths has gone massively downhill.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kerikeri resident Jared Bettridge is fed up buying fresh produce from the supermarket, like these apples, that quickly go rotten.<\/p>\n
Bettridge\u2019s social media post drew scores of comments from sympathetic residents, with many saying they were also struggling with soaring prices<\/a> and rotting fresh produce.<\/p>\n Some people were now shopping around for fruit and vegetables, including farmers markets, and many touted the benefits of growing your own.<\/p>\n Woolworths New Zealand encouraged customers to return items that \u201cdon\u2019t meet our high standards\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cOur \u2018fresh or free\u2019 promise means if customers are not satisfied with the quality of our fresh products, they can return these and get a refund and a replacement.\u201d<\/p>\n However, Bettridge said returning to the supermarket and waiting around to get served then explaining the situation took extra time that he didn\u2019t have. <\/p>\n Running around town visiting different shops for different items was expensive with fuel prices so high<\/a>, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI should be able to go to a reputable supermarket and buy fresh produce like they advertise.\u201d<\/p>\n