The weekly grocery shop is becoming more and more expensive, with rising prices due to inflation making ordinary items far more pricey than they once were. The expense of basic necessities, like food, has soared, leaving many households struggling financially as they attempt to stick to a budget.
While supermarkets are the most straightforward and accessible option for buying groceries, there are other choices available, such as farm shops. These businesses are renowned for selling food and produce cultivated on-site or in the local area and have gained popularity as destinations for buying regionally sourced fresh goods.
But, as they often pride themselves on offering premium produce, they can prove to be expensive.
An American woman living in the UK visited a farm shop for the first time and was taken aback by the prices.
Melissa is a Colombian American who relocated to London and now chronicles her experiences on TikTok.
In a recent clip on the social media platform, she documented her shopping trip to Forest Farm Shop on Forest Road in Ilford, an independent, family-operated store and garden centre, where food items are sourced locally, including fruit and vegetables, meat, bread and cakes.
In her video, Melissa said: “I’m an American in London and you guys told me that I had to try a farm shop, so welcome to Forest Farm Shop.”
The first product that caught her eye was a box of “adorable” Cacklebean free-range eggs from Cackleberry Farm in the Cotswolds.
She then moved onto the homeware aisle, discovering some charming throws and a rolling pin that she described as “so cute.”
Melissa returned to the food section and said: “This is something that I’ve been eating more since I moved here and it’s mustard.
“I don’t know why, before I didn’t really used to love it, and now I absolutely love mustard on everything.”
The expat then snagged some Galaxy chocolate chunk cookies priced at £1.50 and browsed the bread aisle, spotting large loaves for £2.
Continuing her shop, Melissa ventured into the fruit and vegetable section, where cherries were available for £8.99 per kilo and flat peaches and apricots were priced at £3.99 per kilo.
Choosing a box of strawberries costing £5 each and passion fruit at 80p apiece, she exclaimed: “They have passion fruit, that’s crazy. In Colombia we have this and we make it into a juice and it’s so nice.”
However, she observed they “feel different” to what she was used to back home, but was curious enough to pick up three to see how they look inside.
Next on her list, Melissa selected some vine tomatoes at £2.99 per kilogram and admired the spring onions, which she thought were “so cool”.
Commenting on the pricing – two for £1.50 or 99p each – she considered it “not bad”. She continued: “Little gem lettuce for £1.50 each, yes. Beautiful fresh lettuce.”
Melissa was pleased to see some “gorgeous” cabbage and cauliflower, and couldn’t resist bagging some spuds for £1.99, declaring herself a “huge fan of potatoes.”
After her shop, Melissa packed her car boot to the with two bags of shopping and a crate of water.
Reflecting on her experience, she enthused: “That was absolutely amazing. I mean, did you hear those people?
“I will be coming to this farm shop every single week, wow. British people are just another level of kindness.”
Her TikTok video has racked up nearly 200 comments, with many viewers chiming in about the farm shop’s pricing.
One viewer said: “Those are good prices for a farm shop. The produce looks so good too.
“Our local garden centre, Lowdens has an amazing farm shop, restaurant and plant sales.” Another commented: “These prices are so good for a farm shop.
“Can’t beat a farm shop. Always such great quality.” A third voiced their opinion that farm shop prices are generally “outrageous” yet Melissa responded to this comment, noting that the prices at Forest Farm Shop were “really good.”
Joining the discussion, a fourth user shared: “My farm shop is great but it’s REALLY expensive.” Melissa replied: “I expected for it to be expensive too but was pleasantly surprised.”
