Entrepreneurs and farmers Jock Pettitt and Sasha Marsh have been on the sustainable farming scene in Guernsey for a while, endeavouring to “redefine the community’s relationship with food”, first with their Soil Farm business, and now with their Farm Shop.

The new retail centre is along the Landes Du Marche, near community spaces like Saumarez Park, the KGV, and Shiloh Church.

They are hoping being so central will be good for footfall.

“This location is pretty special,” said Mr Pettitt.

“It actually means ‘Land of the Market,’ and was where people used to buy their food. So we feel we have come full circle with our offering.”

Open Monday to Saturday between 08:00 and 18:00, the Farm Shop sells “everything you might need in your weekly shop,” he said.

Pictured: Fresh fish and products from the Grab & Go on sale at The Farm Shop

“We see customers using this as an every other day shop, rather than a weekly shop,” Mr Pettitt added, explaining that the shop sells local and imported meats, fresh fish, fruits, vegetables, grains and also has a bakery.

“We have fridge items like fresh meat and fresh fish. We have your dairy, literally all your basic staples you’d expect in your weekly basket. As well as dry and wet pantry, and household and personal care goods.”

Mr Pettitt explains that nothing is wasted so any fresh food that reaches its shelf life, goes to the on-site chef who will use it to cook daily meals. He calls this the zero-waste kitchen.

“Daily meals of breakfast, lunches, and dinners are cooked. It’s esentially our ‘Grab and Go’ offering, and will answer the ‘Whats for dinner?’ question we all have,” he says.

“We live in a time where everyone’s got different dietary needs. If you come round to mine for dinner, you’ll find it’s deconstructed. If I make chilli, there’ll be the beef gravy part, there’ll be the salsa part, there’ll be the potatoes, there’ll be the the rice. It’s all separated out.”

He goes on to say the price point is still being worked on, as what is sold is seasonal and what is made is dependant on what is not sold, but menus will be available on their social media every day.

Pictured: The Farm Shop self serve grains and cereal corner where people can bring their own glass jars.

A shortage of goods on food shelves has been a common sight following the recent cyber attacks on national supermarket chains and delays on deliveries, and the issue how much we actually grow on-island has been under the spotlight again.

“We have a significant shortage of locally produced food, and what we’re doing with this shop is making a promise to the customer,” said Mr Pettitt. “We have sourced the product lines based on values of animal welfare, environmental welfare, fair pay for farmers and community health.

“When you spend your pound in The Farm Shop you are voting for Jack from Rowan Tree Farm who is turning up here with his fresh produce. He farms your herbs, fruit and vegetables. Every pound you spend on Jack’s produce is a vote for him to grow more.”

Mr Pettitt said their campaign is a play on what is happening now in the island politically too.

“We’ve got a lot of candidates in our suppliers, about 20, and essentially, all Jack has to do is grow the food and bring it to our door.

“We’ll take care of the packaging, the marketing, the retailing, the risk on shelf life, all of that’s taken care of. Jack just needs to grow his food, and then he gets paid 60 pence in the pound for it.”

Pictured: Suppliers are treated like candidates at the Farm Shop, with each pound spent seen as a vote for their produce.

“The Farm Shop is not just an extension of our own farming ambition, but an opportunity to build a community hub that represents, supports and invests in values driven local farming.”

The opening of the Farm shop at the beginning of May, fitted with this campaign for values driven local farming based on principles they have advocated for years said Mr Pettitt, explaining they are principal values that they source the food against.

“Every time you spend a pound in the Farm Shop, you are making sure that we can reinvest to meet these values,” he said.

“We’re not looking for these guys to compete against each other in any way. No, we’re looking to say, vote for all these candidates because they deliver on their promise.

“We’re trying to change a mindset around sourcing your food and understanding that every pound you spend on food is a vote for the system in which it’s produced. Do you like it or not? So if you buy a cheap chicken, you are voting for that system to stay. And every time you spend a pound in the Farm Shop, you are making sure that we can reinvest to meet those values.”

The Farm Shop Values

Animal welfare – ensuring farmed animals have the best possible lives, grazing on pastures, with ample room and fresh pasture helping to regenerate the soil and promoting biodiversity.

Environmental welfare – working with minimal ground disturbance and no synthetic chemicals in all practices, aligned with nature to promote habitat and diversity, utilising the balance of the natural system as a tool to help manage issues rather than seeking to control them.

Farmer welfare – ensuring fair pay for farmers in return for their product, making the livelihood viable in a local context and celebrating their vital role in community health.

Community health – through stable provision of the best quality food, ensuring nutrient density and seasonal balance in diets to alleviate health issues, ensuring energy and wellbeing.