field fare reinforces its commitment to independent retailers and the British farming community, as MD Karen Deans joins the board of the Farm Retail Association (FRA) …

The FRA celebrates its 40th birthday with a dynamic new chairman and board, poised to take the farm retail industry into an exciting renaissance, as consumers turn to local shopping, field to fork traceability and eco-solutions …

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For over 40 years, frozen food specialist field farehas committedly maintained strong connections with the British Farming community …

• Of more than 400 UK-wide solely independent field farestockists, over 350 are farm shops (see https://field-fare.com/stockists/ for locations); which they not only supply with loose serve produce, fish and baked goods, premium ready meals and desserts, but also with marketing, PR, merchandising and social media support - the areas that independents often need help with.
• In recognition of their support, field fare was very proud to have been awarded hard won permission from the National Farmers' Union (NFU) to use the Support British Farmerslogo in 2018.
• field fare headquarters are on a working farm in Kent - Black Robins Farm - with the odd sheep and chicken known to amble or strut past the photocopier!
• With such direct links to the rural community, it is no surprise that a key commitment of field fareis to the environment, evidenced by such trailblazing initiatives as their packaging-free, scoop-and-serve ranges and the accompanying BYO container campaign that they actively encourage their stockists to join.
• Since August 2018, field farehas taken on a record 37 new farm shops and are watching a notable expansion in ranges stocked by their farm shop customers and in the uptake of their BYO container initiative, illustrating an increasingly progressive and expanding retail sector.

Consolidating this relationship further, field fare MD, Karen Deans, has joined a dynamic new Farm Retail Association (FRA) Council, made up of representatives from a strategic cross-section of mature, medium and fledgling businesses, plus trade members from both the food service and training services, bringing a diversity of experience and knowledge to the table. It is headed by a new chairman, Rob Copley, who has built up his own farm shop in Pontefract, West Yorkshire over 16 years, helped by, “a tremendous amount of invaluable advice and support from the FRA”.

The FRA (formerly FARMA) …is the national association representing farm retailers across the UK. It is a cooperative of over 400 members, which is dedicated to supporting, linking, raising the profile and promoting the growth of farm retailing, by …

• Knowledge transfer, learning retreats and tailored training events, focused on such subjects as business development, customer care, farm shop management and marketing.
• Networking events amongst likeminded members, particularly allowing established businesses to advise fledgling ones, but also including external speakers from industry leaders, motivational speakers and retail gurus.
• Discounts from suppliers and card handlers.
• Media and social media support from the FRA team and strong relationships with partner organisations, including the CLA, FarmStay, NFAN, LEAF and the NFU
• Protection through quality and authenticity standardisation, including their Real Farmers' Markets certification, which awards their logo to Farmers' Markets that meet the prescribed FRA criteria; which include championing the farmer and local producers', and products being locally sourced and only sold by the producer.

Says Deans, “Being invited to join the council of the FRA was a great opportunity. We have been associate members pretty much from inception and have found their networking support indispensable. This is my chance to give back, then, not just for the sterling work of FRA, but to the farm shops that have stocked and supported us. It comes on the cusp of an exciting time for farmers markets and shops, where responding to and understanding a changing market is critical for our members' success and growth. As consumer demand increasingly focuses on provenance, local shopping, food miles and environmentally clean alternatives to food production and packaging, and Brexit upheavals put the spotlight back on British produce, farmers markets and farm shops will only continue to grow in importance and popularity.”

The future for FRA … the FRA is also 40 years old: a milestone birthday often marked by re-evaluation and reinvention. And the Farm Retail Association and its new board are no different, as new chairman Rob Copley explains:

“FRA is making the most of its 40thyear, not only as a time to celebrate, but as an opportunity to set the FRA's direction for the next 40 years. The organisation is a melting pot of like-minded farmers, independent retailers and suppliers, with real links to farms, who continually push the boundaries on field to fork, be that through a local Farmers Market or farm shop. As independents, they are able to move quickly in response to member requests, trends and issues such as plastic reduction or grass fed meat; positioning the sector both at the coal face of UK fresh food production and retail, but also at the vanguard of developments in an industry that has never been more current.”

“And our role has never been more relevant, as a result: helping our members to recognise and capitalise on the new opportunities and markets opening up through consumer demand for traceability and authenticity; and providing a critical platform for communication amongst members, across the industry and on a national level. Because there is a lot to shout about! We are seeing a surging wave of new start-up farm shops and more farmers' markets in response, which is really encouraging, and brings with it a welcome influx of millennials, both into the industry and as consumers. Which all adds up to an exciting future of expansion and innovation, as a powerfully united alliance in the field to fork movement in which we are stronger together.

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editors' notes …

• the farm retail association … is a not-for-profit organisation, established 40 years ago to unite and represent the best of real farm shops and Farmers' Markets, and to champion those who grow and sell British food. The FRA provides a communication network for the farm retail industry, from mature to SMEs and start-ups. It offers discounts, learning, training, knowledge transfer and networking opportunities for an annual subscription ranging from £50 for a farmers' market stall up to £375.00 for an organiser. The new chairman, Robert Copley, has run Farmer Copley's Farm Shop in Pontefract with his wife, Heather, for 16 years, growing it into a farm shop with a café and events centre, focused on connecting people with their food through education and fun.
• the team … field fare remains family owned by the second generation Cryer family and based in Kent on Black Robins Farms, a working farm where llamas guard the sheep (yes, really) and chickens regularly strut through the office (true too). A tight team of just six has been working together for up to 10 years and MD Karen Deans has been at the rudder for 18 Karen graduated from Oxford Brookes University with a BA Hons in Business Studies, before embarking on a 2½ year tour with her husband-to-be. They bush-camped and worked around Africa and Australia, then to Hong Kong and Manila before returning home. Karen worked for 8 years for Storsack UK Ltd, an industrial packaging company, then in the oil industry; and finally joinedfield farein 2001, becoming MD in 2003, as Richard and Ann Cryer moved towards retirement.
• the history … 40 years ago, in 1977, field farelaunched a pioneering idea in independent retail. Visionary in its environmentalism, brilliant in its simplicity, the idea was high quality fresh fruit and vegetables, frozen direct from the field and sold loose by the scoop from branded freezers; with minimum packaging and waste, maximum nutrient, vitamin and mineral lock-in, zero additives or preservatives required and the flexibility for customers to economically take as little or as much as they wanted. The loose range now numbers over 80 products ranging from Tuscan Roasting Vegetables to Tuna & Mozzarella Fishcakes. In November 2015 it was joined by a premium ready-meal range, each made in small batches using the quality and quantity of ingredients used in a domestic kitchen, locally sourced where possible. It now numbers over 60 dishes, including comfort food classics, international cuisine, desserts-to-die-for and special dietary requirement dishes.
• the nitty gritty … field fare ready meals are made in small batches and frozen down to between -12°C and -15°C, before being stored at -25°C, which means they immediately retain all those nutrients and flavours with no need to add any preservatives or nasties. Products should be stored at a temperature of -18°C, have a 12 – 18 month shelf life and are mainly to be oven cooked from frozen. Ready meal RRPs range from £2.75 for a single portion Macaroni Cheese to £8.50 for a double portion Fish Pie, and in weight from 300g for a single portion Liver and Bacon to 800g for a double portion Shepherd's Pie.
• the environmentals … pioneering in their environmentally conscious loose-serve model, field fare is still committed to reducing food and packaging waste and minimising food miles. Freezing food reduces the waste associated with perishables, while loose serve means only as much as is needed is taken, with minimal packaging. It is also year-round seasonal, negating the hugely damaging air miles from importing fresh produce; and, transporting in bulk, with minimum packaging much reduces both road freight and frozen storage space.field fare's one-stop-shop provision of all frozen requirements reduces potential deliveries to just one, but the work continues. In 2018, they replaced their already minimal, recyclable, loose-serve bags to biodegradable ones and began a campaign to encourage their stockists to offer Bring Your Own container options to their customers. The packaging of their ready meals usessustainable, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certificated paper sleeves and mono-material plastic trays.
• the charity … field fare is proud to support the wonderful work of FareShare, a charity that redistribute surplus food to their 20 UK wide regional centres and on to partner charities. 28.6 million meals per year are thus provided to people in need. fareshare.org.uk. field farealso donate perfectly safe, but past sell-by frozen products to Waste Not Want Not, in Poole. 

• the stockists… field fare is committed to supporting UK farming, recently recognised by hard won permission from the National Farmers' Union (NFU) to use the Support British Farmers logo. They only supply independent stores, mainly farm shops; and some 400 stockists include selected Blue Diamond Group stores, Dart Farm in Devon, Millets Farm Shop in Oxon, Preston's Barton Grange Garden Centre, Polhill Farm Shop and Broadditch Farm Shop in Kent, Calcott Hall, Brentwood, Thorncliffe Farm Shop in Huddersfield and Gonalston Farm Shop in Nottingham. They recently sponsored the Small Farm Shop category of the Farm Retail Association Awards and MD Karen Deans is a council member of the Farm Retail Association.

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Press enquiries …                                                                 

Lisa Jones, Dandelion PR                                                      

t:          07968 963456                                                                

e:         lisa@dandelionpr.co.uk                                                 

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field fare links …

w:         www.field-fare.com

tw / fb:@fieldfarefoods / @fieldfarefoods

FRA links …

w:         www.farmretailassociation.co.uk

e:         info@farmretailassociation.co.uk

tw / fb:@FARMA_GB /