Farm Shop shopping

lil_me

Shops depend where you go, we have everything from the local cheaper farm shops who sell their own produce and occasionally that of others farms, to the modern 'fashionable' ones which can be stupidly expensive! I use the local cheaper ones myself. Potatoes are £6 a sack at the one I use.

thriftlady_2

I'm buying 20kg sacks of spuds for £4 at the moment. They are the farm's own spuds.

I use 2 local farmshops. My nearest (just on the edge of Worcester) is the potato grower. They also do PYO in summer-soft fruit and beans. I go a bit further out of worcester to a fruit grower for apples, pears and other fruit in season.

Both these shops sell a big range of fruit and veg all year round. They have 3 categories- from far, away, British and from down the road. I stick to homegrown things and local if possible, but they do sell things like butternut squash from Israel, sweet potatoes from South America, Dutch and Spanish salad stuff. A decent farm shop should have a clear label on all its produce saying where it comes from.

They also sell dairy produce from a local dairy. The milk is actually cheaper than supermarket milk. I used to find the butter expensive, but now that supermarket butter has gone up so much the price difference isn't so great.

Farmshops these days also sell a range of pricy gourmet foods -loose olives, cold-pressed rapeseed oils, flavoured nuts, gourmet popcorn, posh crisps, very expensive local flour, fruity drinks, local beers, coffee, tea, dried fruit, relishes, salad dressings etc. I ignore most of these. You will probably also find find meat and smoked fish (shrink-wrapped), bread and baked goods. The cakes at my shop look homemade and delicious but I can make them just as nice .

You can do all your food shopping at a farmshop, but I find it is best to be selective. The best value is to be had with local, seasonal fruit and veg and dairy (milk, butter and cream rather than cheese and yogurt).

For anyone in the Worcester area I can recommend -Broomfield's at Holt Heath and Gwillam's on the Ombersley Road. Roots at Rushwick is also worth a look for more unusual fruit and veg, but tends to be more expensive than the others.

moo2moo

I find the farm shops in garden centres and the like to be overpriced whereas at the monthly farmers market you buy direct from the farmers, theres always the opportunity to haggle.

Off to pick up a pre-ordered 1/2 pig today at £1 per pound. Generally costs £65 - £70 and consists of 1 carrier bag sausages, 1 carrier bag pork chops and if the last one is anything to go by 23 joints each of which fed 4 people for 2 days plus whatever else I find in the box. Free ranging and very tasty.

thriftlady_2

moo2moo wrote: »

Off to pick up a pre-ordered 1/2 pig today at £1 per pound. Generally costs £65 - £70 and consists of 1 carrier bag sausages, 1 carrier bag pork chops and if the last one is anything to go by 23 joints each of which fed 4 people for 2 days plus whatever else I find in the box. Free ranging and very tasty.

Sounds good value -whereabouts is that ?

sahararose

I'd love to use farm shops...the ones that sell their own produce, not just stuff they've bought from a wholesaler. Does anyone know of any in the Stoke-on-trent area? I've googled and can't find any. xx

bunty109

Thanks so much for all the replies so far: my nearest farm shop is about 15 miles away and I don't mind doing the trip if I know it will work out cost effective.

I need to find somewhere for meat as I know they don't do it!

ravylesley

moo2moo wrote: »

I find the farm shops in garden centres and the like to be overpriced whereas at the monthly farmers market you buy direct from the farmers, theres always the opportunity to haggle.

Off to pick up a pre-ordered 1/2 pig today at £1 per pound. Generally costs £65 - £70 and consists of 1 carrier bag sausages, 1 carrier bag pork chops and if the last one is anything to go by 23 joints each of which fed 4 people for 2 days plus whatever else I find in the box. Free ranging and very tasty.

Just ordered 1/2 a pig myself and I got it for £1.15per lb.Not bad I think considering a local farm shop quoted me £165 for 1/2 a pig

Lesleyxx

Dioritt

I think it's wise to always ask where the produce comes from before you buy because, as mentioned by others, there's no guarantee that it's actually locally produced food.

The farm shop I use sells only produce that comes from local farms and cottage industries (for the jams, pickles, cakes etc) but there's another that my friend uses because it's more flash looking and has a larger selection but my daughter's friend works there and knows that much of the produce is brought in from all over and no better really than most of what's available elsewhere.

Sharon J

Skint_Catt

Thanks thriftlady - I work in Worcester but live in Bromsgrove - I will try Gwilliams as I know where that is - whereabouts is Broomfields in Holt Heath? Have you tried the one going out towards Droitwich on the hill?

Younggrandmother

Hi,
I usually buy my meat and veg from Mr Ts or Morrisons, but a farm close to us has just opened its own shop. I would like to try shopping there, but as I am on a tight budget (mature full-time student with 2 teenagers, a dog and a very fat cat!) I am a little worried that the prices might be beyond my purse.