Want to look at my bulging chest? (Farmfoods)

Member Name: MandyMinx

Product:	Farmfoods
Date:	29/11/03 (575 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, Easy shopping, Plenty of choice

Disadvantages: upright freezers definitely needed.

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 necessary to ensure that my freezer is full of titbit's 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 a whole meal for this price is a good deal, if you can make use of a bag of frozen carrots and peas in with the meal. I never buy frozen veg so the 'five for a fiver' often becomes 'two or three for a fiver' with a load of stuff left over that I don't want. Defeats the object really doesn't it? I rarely shop at Iceland.

Heron is a store that provides extremely low cost frozen foods at really cheap prices. This is a great store if you are prepared to risk unknown and often poorly labelled produce, instead of the more familiar brands. Personally I'm not and only use Heron for ice lollies and ice creams for the monsters in the summer. I like cheap, but I insist on quality too.


This of course leaves Farmfoods. I think in the past Farmfoods have had a bit of a reputation for providing cheap, but poor quality produce. I've never actually agreed with this statement, but I have to say that until lately I would not have gone out of my way to shop with
them. Farmfoods have recently undergone a good few changes and many of these are for the better. I now do travel to visit my local Farmfoods store.

I am sure you are all familiar with the red and sky blue logo that announces a Farmfood store. If you haven't seen one I am sure you will be familiar with the large leaflets that fall out of your local free paper, or the advertisements on the TV with the large polar bear doing his shopping in the store.

I have been to three or four of their shops and I find the layout in each very similar. Being a freezer shop you would expect to see plenty of big chest freezers with produce on display. The good thing about these freezers is that they aren't too deep. There is nothing worse than dangling precariously over the edge of a freezer trying to reach something at the very bottom. I always have visions on falling in.
I think all three chains need to think carefully about adopting the upright freezers that many of the supermarket's are now using. Not only do they take up less space, they are so much more accessible to people in wheelchairs and the elderly. The width of a large chest freezer means that the space in many of this type store is actually very limited and very often the aisles are not wide enough for a pushchair,wheelchair, or more than one trolley at a time. (Anyone who has ever shopped in a Heron store will know this problem! )

I find the trolleys at Farmfoods to be of a good standard, by that I mean they go in the direction I want them to go and not wherever they want to. I feel the handles on the shopping baskets could be thicker though, to make them easier for the elderly to carry.


There is a wide choice of produce available, from frozen meats, fish, sausages, burgers, pizza, convenience and microwave foods, frozen veg and my favourite section, ice cream.
Farmfoods also do a range of dry produce too. Biscuits, crisps, bread, beans, tea, coffee, dog food
etc. I suppose you could do your weekly shop there if you weren't particular to certain brands. I am, so I usually stick to the freezer sections unless I see something special on offer. There are both brand names and lesser known offerings, but all in proper packaging and all in date.

When I shop I get very annoyed when I can't see the price of an item. I don't have an unlimited budget and I like to be able to work out what I am going to be expected to pay when I reach the tills at the end of the store. This is often because I tend to buy too many treats for the kids from the ice cream and cake section and want to make sure I can afford to do so.

Farmfoods have a new price policy that makes shopping so much easier. Items are grouped into freezers in the same price bracket. By that I mean that a freezer will be very clearly marked with the price, one price. All the items in a particular freezer are that price. No 99p's, just whole pounds.
Very often a freezer will offer 2 for a pound, or even 3 in some of them. You are then not limited to one product, within an offer but can choose any 3 from those that are in this freezer.
I have an elderly aunt who finds shopping difficult. Very often she will only buy a few items at a time when she is shopping as she is unable to work out how much she is spending. She finds shopping at Farmfoods much easier and when I am with her I can help with both hers and mine, with very little trouble.
I would like to point out that not everyone finds shopping easy and for many people out there with learning difficulties this has to be a big step forward. It's amazing how many people are put off by 99p and don't know how to round a price up or down. I definitely applaud Farmfoods for making this change and taking this initiative.


I find that there is usually plenty of stock and rarely have I reached into a freezer to find it empty. They sell many brand products at really low
prices. I recently bought two tubs of Snicker ice cream for a pound. They were on buy one get one free in Asda at the time but were priced at just under two pounds a tub there.
I find Farmfoods clean and bright, unlike Heron.
The staff on the tills have a smile, something I look for and appreciate. The use of bar code scanning means that movement through the checkout is fast and efficient, in fact I very often get help with packing everything away, from the cashier. Carrier bags are very strong and as an added bonus they are free too.
I have a fridge sized, upright freezer at home and I can fill it for less than thirty pounds. Definitely good value for money.
There is a big car park outside the store at Mapperley Top where I shop, so I don't have to struggle to the car with all my shopping.


Farmfoods definitely offer value for money and I do find them very easy to shop with. I think they could make their aisles a little wider and change the shape of the freezers, but all in all I do find them the best of the three on offer in Nottingham.
Most stores are open 7 days a week too, which will be handy as we approach Christmas..


Thanks for reading


Mand xx

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