BUSINESS
Sussex produce flying the flag for animal welfare cont .
Village Larder , Washington
Brother and sister , Joe and Hollie Horwood , made the move from south London to West Sussex to help Liz and David , their stepmum and dad , run their family farm shop , Village Larder .
The idea for Village Larder - a small , community food produce shop with a farm shop feel - first came about in 2010 when Liz and David opened a little shop in Washington , but just one year later they were approached by nearby Squire ’ s Garden Centre , to expand into a bigger unit . Consequently , Hollie moved to Sussex in 2012 and started to work in the new , larger shop and later in 2013 , her brother , Joe , moved from south London to work with his family .
The family were keen to open a local food produce shop bringing in bread from a local bakery , meat from a local butchers , cheese from in and around Sussex , and local fruit and veg from nearby farms .
“ We have chosen our artisan suppliers because they are great quality , local and have a good reputation for treating their animals exceptionally well ,” says Joe . “ These include S . K . Hutchings of Partridge Green for meat , who were recent winners of a ‘ Best Butcher ’ award , and we ’ ve always stocked plenty of local cheese as Sussex is a great county for quality cheese production ; some of our favourites are Brighton Blue , Sister Sarah Goat and St Giles from the High Weald Dairy , and Sussex Charmer from Rudgwick . Our fruit and veg comes from over the road , from Rock Farm and Spring Gardens , and we get our tomatoes from Nutbourne Nursery .”
“ High-welfare produce - meat , cheese and organic , free-range eggs – is very important to us because it tastes better , it ’ s richer in nutrients , and it ’ s ethically produced – the animals are treated better , so it makes sense that their produce would taste much better too .”
www . villagelarder . co . uk
The Sussex Produce Company , Steyning
The Sussex Produce Company opened in November 2007 and specialises in sourcing the best food and drink the county has to offer .
Stocking the largest range of locally sourced products in Sussex and supporting over 70 local high-welfare farmers and producers , you ’ ll find an abundance of food at this colourful shop that tastes as good as it looks . Specialising in greengrocery , cheese , bread , fish , meat , wine , and beer ( on draught , so you can get it to take away , which is genius ), they also stock a large number of products that are made on the premises including soups and salads .
During the eight successful years the shop has been open , it ’ s been judged ‘ Sussex Food Shop of the Year ’ twice and was also named one of the best food shops in the whole of the south in The Observer ’ s 2013 Food Awards , a publication that went on to crown the shop ‘ Greengrocer of the Year ’ in 2014 .
There ’ s a café at the rear , which showcases the very best of what they sell and is open seven days a week for breakfast and lunch – they do a fabulous Sunday lunch and are open in the evening on Friday and Saturday nights as well as regularly hosting special events such as book launches for the likes of Mary Berry , Hemsley and Hemsley , and Kate Humble .
www . thesussexproducecompany . co . uk
The Macs , Ditchling
The Macs is a third-generation farm nestled in the glorious south downs village of Ditchling . It ’ s home to Susie and Danny Mac , their four children and more than 20,000 organic , free-range , egg-laying hens .
Every day Susie and her brothers , who run neighbouring farms as part of their family business , Grassington Rangers , supply supermarkets , local people and businesses with more than 70,000 organic eggs , and Susie puts their success down to making sure their hens are looked after the right way .
“ We ’ ve been fortunate enough to have listened to decades of amazing words of advice about farming and we are a farm , not a fairy story ,” says Susie . “ We encourage people to come and buy our organic eggs and see the farm through all the seasons - summer when it ’ s green and beautiful and winter when it ’ s wet and looks ugly - whatever the weather , we are dedicated to the welfare of our hens .”
“ That ’ s why we farm to the RSPCA ’ s standards and our eggs carry the RSPCA Assured label . It ’ s just common sense . If our girls are well cared for and happy , they will lay good quality , delicious eggs that people want to buy . And now , we ’ re teaching the next generation about how organic eggs are produced and encouraging people to look at food labels , think about the animals that supply our food and try their best to buy RSPCA Assured and British food .”
www . themacsfarm . co . uk
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