New Farm Shop Crowdfunding Campaign Launched

Today Sam and I are thrilled to launch our crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to raise £30,000 towards the fit out of your new farm shop. This will give us the space and prominence to highlight all the best local produce so that you can buy a wonderful range of food and drink in the shop, browse our butchery and deli counters, enjoy lunch from our charcoal grill, spend the afternoon learning to make sourdough bread or sit back one evening at our Producers Suppers, chatting to the fisherman whose fish you are eating.

We would love it if you were able to invest through crowdfunding, and if every one of our newsletter subscribers pledged £10 we would hit our target.  There are a range of different rewards that include meals, courses and parties.  If you are interested in investing, but the kickstarter options are not right for you, then please come and have a chat with Sam or myself. If you can’t invest, then it would be great if you could spread the word: in conversation, with Facebook or Twitter.  Ideally we want to generate early momentum, so if you are thinking of investing, please look at it sooner rather than later.  That gives us more exposure, and a greater chance of a successful campaign.

If the new farm shop is fully funded, then we will create six full time jobs in the next year, and will stock products from over 50 food and drink producers within 30 miles of the shop.  It will boost the local economy, and support farmers, growers, food producers and fishermen. We plan to open in August 2017.

It is going to be a fantastic building, with wooden pillars and beams that were grown and milled on the Stansted Estate. The Douglas Fir was originally planted by the Lumberjills, the Women’s Land Army, in 1946 – and the timber is now in Dorset where it is being crafted to precise measurements, before being returned and erected on site.  The brick walls and slate roof will match the existing farm shop, and large glass doors will open onto the courtyard. The shop will have a far wider variety of products

Finally we will have a fully stocked, fully manned butchery – with a cold store and cutting room on site.  This will provide a full range of meat every day, specializing in local, heritage breeds that have adapted over generations to the South Downs. Beef will be properly hung, and welfare and traceability will be a priority.  We will increase the amount of wild venison and game, and your meat can be cut to order.  The butchery will also offer wholesale trade to restaurants, pubs and hotels.

The deli counter will be brimming with local and English cheeses, alongside homemade pies, quiche and salads. English charcuterie and our own smoked meats, pickles and sauces will give a delicious choice of food to take away.  Most of this will be made in the production kitchen, which will use a Big Green Egg charcoal oven. We will also have a Big Green Egg in the courtyard and will be a stockist, with courses available.

The kitchen will serve lunch every day, brunch at the weekends, as well as seasonal production suppers.  The retail stands will be mobile, so that we can create an event space in the evenings for parties, supper clubs, product launches and tastings. We will also make full use of the courtyard with markets and a beautiful outside seating area for pizzas and grill.

We do hope you can get involved in this exciting crowdfunding project – one where our local food and drink is the star, and we help you to appreciate the wonderful food on our doorstep. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.