Food You Can Trust

There's just so much to love about my challenge to avoid the supermarkets, and yesterday I found yet another reason - Scaddows Farm Shop in South Derbyshire.

Myself and a photographer from the Derby Telegraph travelled out to the shop to take some pictures for my fourth Food You Can Trust feature - printed in today's Derby Telegraph (yep, I'm back in the game now after my illness). And as well as taking some lovely photos I also took the chance to sit down for a quick chat with farmers' daughter Lizzie.

In the lovely airy converted hay barn

Having grown up on the farm, Lizzie set up the farm shop in 2006 after studying farming and marketing at university. She said she wanted to diversify and break down the barriers between farmers and their customers that tend to be created when people are more used to shopping at supermarkets rather than visiting farms.

Admiring some of the homemade jams

An old hay barn was converted into the shop and cafe, and Lizzie spent months researching the products she wanted to stock, visiting local farmers and producers - such as the local lady who still delivers her handmade jams and chutneys straight to the shop.

It means that Lizzie and her team have an in-depth knowledge of where all their produce comes from and one of the highlights of the jobs is talking to customers and telling them the history behind what they're buying.

Lizzie also said she appreciated the opportunity to advertise the shop on the platform that our Food You Can Trust features are providing - which is great because it means the paper is helping to give a boost to local businesses too.

And in keeping with my pledge to bring veggie back - this farm is also very veggie friendly. In fact, some of the main crops are cabbages, Brussels sprouts (mmmm my favourite!) and an extensive Pick Your Own business that allows customers to get down and dirty with nature as they harvest their own strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries and blackcurrents during the summer months.

With icy rain forecast for this weekend, only the most hardcore walkers will be out rambling. But you can still enjoy a taste of the countryside by taking a drive out to visit a farm shop like Scaddows. If the clouds lift then there's bound to be a footpath nearby, many of them have cafes so you can enjoy a coffee and cake, and then you can head home with all the ingredients for a warming end-of-winter hotpot.



Today's feature - featuring Scaddows



Hardworking farmers will still be out lambing their sheep and tending their land whatever the weather - so get out there, meet them and show them your support.