Waitrose
We are delighted to tell you that we have been chosen to become a 'local' supplier of our Gloucestershire Old Spot sausages to the Waitrose store in Newport in Shropshire.
After much deliberation Waitrose have given us a contract to supply the Newport store and, if it goes well, to expand to supply stores within 30 miles radius of the farm.
We are delighted to be working with the John Lewis Partnership and look forward a happy relationship !
***As from August 9th we will be supplying Waitrose Wolverhampton. Sales of sausages in Newport are exceeding all our expectations and we hope to increase as the year goes into Autumn.
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 The true cost of cheap food
Shropshire Star
Rural affairs editor Nathan Rous
Never has animal welfare been more in the spotlight in Britain than it is now. The appalling conditions uncovered at Bernard Matthews’ farm in Suffolk some years ago sparked comment and fury from both the eminent and the ordinary.
Consumers are partly to blame. For years they have glibly filled their supermarket trolleys according to cost alone without realising that cheap food equals cheap production. When that production involves animals, it should be no surprise to discover that turkeys are sharing a shed with 40,000 of their cousins.
So what happens now? Not everyone can afford to eat ethically reared animals and it is naive to think they can. However, a lot of people have the spending power to make a difference.
For those wanting meat from animals which have been professionally cared for in an environment their ancestors would have enjoyed, David Haighton is your man.
David decided to sell his 300-acre farm at Ellerdine 12 years ago and downsize. The 47 acres he owns at Muckleton are now alive with 150 or so Gloucester Old Spot pigs. To him, it’s all about ethics.“I’m a traditional man and I wanted to go back to the way things should be done,” he says. “Animals should have space to roam and the sort of environment they would have had centuries ago. The bigger the production the more that is compromised; that’s why I’m perfectly happy with the numbers I have here on the farm.”
The pigs seem to love it too, splashing around in the mud and taking refuge from the wind in the spacious pig arcs or in the straw-laden surroundings of the barn. “There are plenty of methods employed by other farms which we have no part in,” he continued. “We don’t carry out any castrations and we don’t take out incisors when the pigs are born. The entire process is as natural as it can be and I want it to stay that way.”
His dedication to the animals has resulted in his business, Muckleton Meats, gaining widespread acclaim. David sells direct to restaurants, such as the Hundred House at Norton, The Pheasant Inn at Admaston and has a loyal private client base who keep coming back for more. He even sends sausages to a Portobello Road cafe in London.
“There is a real clamour at the moment for food to be locally sourced and locally reared. But more than that, people want to know that the animal is being treated properly. We’ve all seen what has happened at Bernard Matthews. The trouble is that eating has now become a class issue, in that people on the breadline buy according to price. But the market for people who can afford to have a food conscience is growing and growing. For the last 20 years we have got used to eating cheap food. That simply has to change for the welfare of our animals as well as ourselves.”
David sells pork in all quantities, so if a customer just wants one chop then they can have it. “I’ve learned over the years that while the big orders make life easier, the small orders are just as important. Sometimes people don’t want to buy 20 chops at a time. By catering for everyone it guarantees they come back for more.”
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Farmers' Markets and Food Fairs
We are still attending 2 Farmers' Markets, one in Stone in Staffs and in Wem in Shropshire with a growing following of people wanting Rare Breed pork.
We are also attending the following Food fairs in the region in 2010:
Ellesmere Food Festival 19 & 20 June.
The Shropshire Show 26 & 27 June.
Oswestry Food Festival 10 and 11 July.
Attingham Park 17 & 18 July.
Bridgnorth Food Fair 29 August.
Ludlow Food Festival 10,11 & 12 September.
Attingham Park 18 & 19 Setember.
Ironbridge 25 September.
Hereford Food Festival 23 & 24 October.
Attingham Park 3,4 & 5 December.
We hope to see you at some of the above and will offer a 10% discount if you mention you saw us on the website !
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Muckleton Meats Pork