FARMFOODS EQUALS GREAT VALUE
"Freezing in the Freshness" and "Great Food at Amazing Prices"
These are the slogans used by Farmfoods, a chain of shops that tend to have a bit of a stigma against them, as cheap shops selling low quality foods.
With this review I hope that I am ... Read review
"Freezing in the Freshness" and "Great Food at Amazing Prices"
These are the slogans used by Farmfoods, a chain of shops that tend to have a bit of a stigma against them, as cheap shops selling low quality foods.
With this review I hope that I am able to prove that these facts are both wrong and that I am able introduce you to the benefits of becomming a Farmfood shopper!!
Farmfoods is a Scottish company, it started in Aberdeen in 1955 and now has around 300 shops throughout Great Britain. It is a Farmfoods is a discount supermarket chain that specialises in frozen food. They also sell a wide range of everyday items like soft drinks, toilet paper, confectionery, bread, milk, desserts, fresh fruit and vegetables all at reduced prices.
I live near to Lancaster, and one thing that attracts me to our local Farmfoods is that is outside the main city shopping area and has its own - free - car park - parking can be difficult and expensive in the city.
The store has recently changed its tell tale blue and white striped colour scheme to a pleasant countryside design. Every shop that you see has the same design and lay out. All the signs are a combination of a field scene and black background. And the staff uniforms have changed from blue to black. The ( very high quality and free) carrier bags now have the field sceneon instead of the stripes.
My review will be with the Lancaster shop in mind - but I think that most are the same.
The shop is fairly large and has quite wide aisles ( this is an improvement from the shop in the last town I lived in), and they provide both large trolleys and baskets - but believe me - you'll want the trolley!!
The store is set out aisles with waist-height freezer cabinets running along each side and shelving above most freezers with non frozen goods on. The Lancaster branch has 2 tills with a space for the customer to place a basket onto the checkout.
The shop does not employ a lot of staff, and they do all jobs - stocking shelves, tills , store work etc - staff go to the till when needed , this is one aspect of the store where they can save money to make the prices lower. Other ways are that the foods they sell are nearer their sell-by date than the larger supermarkets will stock and also a lot of the goods they sell are in the process of being discontinued and so they are available at a lower price.
The staff at the Lancaster shop are all extremely friendly, after you have shopped there a couple of times they get to know you and know the types of things that you like and tell you if there are any new items in that they think you would like.
All the items in Farmfoods are individually priced, but the majority of them have a multi-buy price (for example, 29p or 5 for £1) or B.O.G.O.F.
There are a lot of famous name foods sold in the shop as well as Farmfoods own and lesser known names, but everything I have bought has been of a good quality.
There is a fantastic assortment of frozen vegetables and fruits - some as little as 29p a bag.
The fish and meat selections are also very good with a good choice - I find their frozen bacon is of a very good quality as well as being almost half the price of one of the larger supermarkets, and a leg of lamb is very reasonable at around £7.
If you have children the Ice Lollies and ice sream selection is incredible and SO cheap, there is also a good selecion of sweets and chocolates available.
Our store sells Kingsmill Loaves ( 2 for £2) and it is EXTREMELY fresh, as are all the bread rools etc. Thre is not the same choice of breads and bakery goods as there are in larger supermarkets.
There is also a limited amount of greengrocery goods on offer, all bagged - usually potatoes, apples, bananas, grapes and tomatoes.
The chiller section has a selection of milk, cheese, butters, cooked meats and yogurts.
Biscuits and packaged cakes are all really good bargains - I always go for a shop before my grandkids come to stay to stock up with goodies for them!!
Toilet rolls, kitchen rolls and household cleaning items are all available at really low prices, as well as soaps,deodorants etc.
Another advantage is that local [papers usually have leaflets for Farmfoods in with several vouchers - £2.50 off £25 of shopping and £5.00 off £50 of shopping - you are also able to use two together if you buy that much.
When I go and do a 'big' shop I can fill a trolley to the brim for £50!!
The only disadvantage I find with Farmfoods is that I cannot to my complete shop there as they don't sell all the brands of things I want.
Opening hours of Farmfoods stores are standardised across the chain and fall into two categories based on location of the store itself. ).
The current opening hours for all stores classed as town centre stores are:
Mon 8:30-18:00 Tue 8:30-18:00 Wed 8:30-18:00 Thu 8:30-20:00 Fri 8:30-20:00 Sat 8:30-18:00 Sun 10:00-16:00 (9:00-18:00 in some stores)
The current opening hours for all stores classed as out of town stores are:
Mon 8:00-20:00 Tue 8:00-20:00 Wed 8:00-20:00 Thu 8:00-20:00 Fri 8:00-20:00 Sat 8:00-20:00 (8:00-18:00 in some stores) Sun 10:00-16:00 (9:00-18:00 in some stores)
So if you havn't tried Farmfoods because you think it's cheap and nasty - please think again - cheap it certainly is but nasty - NEVER!!!
Summary: Farm foods is not a shop to be shunned but to be enjoyed
Advantages: Cheap and easy shopping. Disadvantages: Chest freezers
I have to say I do care about what my family put in their stomachs and have prided myself over the years on the meals I have cooked for them and the natural produce I have taken the time to prepare. I have three teenagers and a hubby who, although small and lean, could probably out eat the local rugby team and despite my efforts, I find more and more that they are seeking out snacks and convenience foods between meals and because of this I find it ... ...for them to eat.
In Nottingham, where I live, along with the abundance of supermarkets that are on offer, there are three main freezer produce stores. Iceland, Heron and Farmfoods.
Iceland stores are large but I find that they compensate for their many buy one get one free offers by increasing the individual price of an item if it is to be included in one of the offers. Their 'five items for a fiver' offers, where you are effectively able to purchase ...
MandyMinx 05.11.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Farm Food (Shop)
Advantages: Cheap and cheerful Disadvantages: Own-brand goods best avoided
...mother-in-law insists on calling it Farm Fresh, so lets get this bit straight, right from the start. It doesn’t sell fresh food (apart from milk and bread) and I would say that a good 50% of the products it sells have never been anywhere near a farm.
I’m not saying that the food they sell is stale (as opposed to fresh) but almost everything on sale is either frozen, canned or pre-packed. You won’t find fresh meat or fresh fruit and vegetables there.
... ...months - without ever having been in there I decided that it wasn’t really my type of shop. I rarely buy pre-packed food so I assumed I could live without it. I had also wrongly assumed that they sold nothing but
frozen food.
And then one day, because it was raining and because I was too lazy to schlep to Tesco’s on the other side of town I thought I’d put aside all my prejudices and give it a try. I only wanted some frozen peas and something quick ...
weenawoo 21.11.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Farm Food (Shop)
Advantages: Great savings on shopping Disadvantages: Shop could do with cheering up
On a recent shopping trip or trudge as I call it (hate shopping) I was pleasantly surprised to find a great amount of bargains which led to a great saving for me. What shop is this you ask? Err... Farmfoods! No that is not a typo it does say Farmfoods. I went into farmfoods and was shocked to see they have really pushed the boat out. There has been a lot of changes and it showed with the volume of customers they had as the shop was bustling with ... ...is the groceries on offer. They have introduced more "brand" name foods that are well known household names and they are selling these at fantastic prices which save you a small fortune. Some of the bargains are:
Nescafe 200g Jar Instant Coffee:
This was price marked at £2.49 but they sold for £2
Walls Viennetta Ice Cream: Only £1
Birds Eye Chicken Chargrills (Various Variety) 2 pack
Price marked at £1.99 but they sold at £1.50
Oriental Express ...
Darren1504 28.11.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Farm Food (Shop)
Advantages: It's cheap, and you can fill your trolley for less Disadvantages: Low quality food for the most part, avoid the cheese slices like the plague
...and ventured into my local Farm Foods branch...
The area I live in couldn't really be described as affluent, and sad to say, shopping trolley theft is rife, so what is Farm Foods answer? A huge five foot pole attached in an upright position to the back of the trolley. It works in theory, but there are areas of my local branch that are a little under this height, so the effect is quite annoying when you have to force the trolley through these sections.
... ...afraid I can't really recommend Farm Foods unless you're absolutely tapped and don't mind eating what quite frankly, amounts to second rate food.
As to the quality of customer service, I was disappointed to say the least, the staff I encountered were surly and unhelpful and did very little to smile...On the day I visited, the checkout lady had a group of friends gathered around the till with her, and when I queried a mistake on my bill, not only ...
Cubz 15.04.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Farm Food (Shop)
After the handy Safeway store, just a 5 minute walk from my house, closed down we were left wondering what would take it's place? Rumours circled of Day and Nite moving to the premises, or it being knocked down, but after a couple months waiting, our curiosity was silenced, when a blue, red and yellow sign went up. "Farmfoods".
I had never heard of the store before, I'd been in frozen food outlets, but not a shop, and not one my own doorstep. After ... ...an open day announced where there was to be an array of offers and constant low prices. I was excited, my two favourite aspects when shopping, especially when I don't need to pay £1.35 to go into town, and I get exercise at the same time.
When the day of opening arrived me and my mum decided to visit, see what offers where to be had, and if we could pick up a little something for tea. The first thing I noticed when we arrived in the car park was ...
DumpYou 11.10.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Farm Food (Shop)
Price
Value for money
Layout & presentation
Selection & range
Quality
Waiting / queues
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supermarket prices because it would be lovely to shop there on a regular basis but unfortunately the prices are a bit too high for day to day shopping. However, I love visiting there and buying something for a treat and it's a great place to maybe buy some unusual gifts for family and friends who like their food.
If you live in the local area the FarmShop does deliver and you can always go on line to place your orders. However, that's not quite the same as visiting because even if you are not going to buy very much it's lovely to look around.
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