The real farm shop that sells produce grown, reared and processed on site is a rarity. Many aren’t even on farms. Most might sell a few vegetables or pieces of meat or cheese from the farm but, almost invariably, the vast majority is bought in from what remains of the independent wholesale supply chain. Every farm shop seems to sell the same frozen fruit and vegetables, drinks, biscuits and crisps. Often you would be unable to tell the difference between farm shops in Devon and Durham. They are destinations rather than serious food shops.
Before food processing became large scale and centralised it was much more common for farmers to add value on site and sell on, either to local shops and wholesalers or through their own shops and market stalls in towns. Butchers with their own farms were commonplace. This, with the motor car, would make for a sensible grounding for farm retailing. Sadly until recently it had all but died out. Now that a degree of on-farm processing has returned we have also become more aware of carbon emissions and food miles. Should we really be getting in our cars and driving out to a farm shop to buy a few vegetables or a lb of mince? It isn’t as though Riverford Farm Shop is staffed by surplus members of the farmer’s family. I live in Totnes and drive out there every day.
So I reckon farm shops should be in town – where the people are. It is inevitable that they sell a reasonably comprehensive range of groceries but they should prioritise local, seasonal and fresh. Because most farms specialise in only one or two lines a cooperative venture of concessions seems a good way forward. One farmer/processor might do the vegetables, another the meat, another the dairy, another the bakery etc. It wouldn’t be a farmers market because there needs to be a continuity of message. It needs to be treated as a routine food shop rather than a destination and it needs to be open and fully stocked all the time.
I reckon Woolworths would make a great farm shop. What do you think? Every decent sized town should have one.