From Pubs to Paddocks: the growing success of Farmers Food at Home
It’s fair to say that every small business across the UK has had to work doubly hard to keep going during a worldwide pandemic, but few have made a growing success of their small, homemade business quite like Farmers Food at Home. When shops were shutting down, the team at Farmers Food at Home were opening one; The Paddock Farm Shop in Llanreithan served Pembrokeshire families with fresh fruit, veg, dairy and baked goods, and meats throughout the pandemic, ensuring that residents were never without fresh produce when supermarkets were struggling to keep up with demand.
Growing success in business runs in the family, though. The Farmer family began when Sally and Bryan met in college and, with Bryan’s love of Pembrokeshire stemming from his childhood holidays, the family moved to West Wales. Bryan worked on arable fields while Sally worked as a domestic science teacher – the makings of great food producers were there long before daughter Anne-Marie took up the growing success as Farmers Food at Home.
Moving into the next phase of this enterprising family’s growing success story, Bryan and Sally bought a large house with small acreage and opened a Bed and Breakfast. The land allowed Bryan to begin working for the Pembrokeshire Vegetable Growers Association, and in 18 polytunnels on the land that now houses The Paddock Farm shop, Bryan grew cauliflowers, cabbages, and potatoes annually – over 8 million plants per year!
When the demand for Pembrokeshire cauliflowers lessened, and never ones to rest on their laurels, the family moved on to their next go-getting adventure; running a popular Pembrokeshire pub. The Farmer family bought The Farmers Arms in Mathry where Bryan pulled the pints and Sally prepared the delicious meals for 16 successful years. It was here that Farmers Food at Home was born. Daughter Anne-Marie offered jars of homemade jam, chutney, and preserves for sale from the counter of the family pub. With an abundance of home produce available one bumper summer, along with blackberries gathered from Pembrokeshire’s hedgerows, Anne-Marie jumped at the opportunity to perfect her jam, chutney, and preserves recipes. And with the experience of veg growing and excellent cookery skills running in the family, as well as the family’s ambitious attitude, the jars were soon selling out!
One successful online shop and a brand new Farm Shop later, The Paddock now sells fruit and veg grown on the same land that Bryan, who is no longer with us, grew his cauliflowers for many years. The go-getting family is also setting up a campsite on the family’s beautiful land, and Sally still tends to the veggies while Anne-Marie fills the jars and runs the shop with the help of her boys. But is it Bryan’s hard work and care of this fertile green land that still feeds the magic into the fresh produce that fills the shelves and jars at Farmers Food at Home, making it an ever-growing success? We like to think so.