The Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Prospective Conservative MP for Taunton Deane visited a farm shop in the constituency on Friday.
Elizabeth Truss MP and Rebecca Pow made a trip to Rumwell Farm Shop on Friday, February 6 to see how the business has developed during the last few years.
Anne Mitchell, Co-Owner of the farm shop, which is located on the A38 between Taunton and Wellington, said: “We were delighted to welcome Elizabeth and Rebecca to our farm shop. It was our pleasure to show them around and explain to them our ethos and the local produce we stock.
“We have a family farm just four miles away, which means we can offer people locally reared free range pork and Aberdeen Angus beef, as well as free range eggs and potatoes. We are keen to offer our customers regional produce and homemade items such as our fudge, cakes and jams.”
During the visit Elizabeth and Rebecca were able to see how Rumwell make their own sausages and cakes. Anne’s husband David and their son, James were also on hand to chat to them about the family farm.
Elizabeth explained: “I was delighted to be invited by Rebecca to Rumwell Farm Shop in the Taunton Deane Constituency. This is a fantastic example of great British food capturing the local identity of Somerset.
“It was fantastic to watch the sausages being made by hand right from the beginning, through to being sold in the shop, and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the excellent range of other local foods available.”
Defra is the government department responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United Kingdom.
Rumwell Farm Shop is an independent, family-run, award-winning business owned by the Mitchell family. It was originally a potato store, when David and Anne Mitchell began selling their potatoes and free range eggs at the gate.
Due to customer demand, the range of products soon increased and the farm shop grew into the place it is today. David and Anne’s sons, James and Jack, are now also involved in the business.
There is now a delicatessen, bakery, jam kitchen and food hall at the shop. The jam kitchen produces a range of 50 products including jams, chutneys and marmalades all made using fruit and vegetables from the shop.
Home grown potatoes are also still available as well as everything from fruit, vegetables and groceries to plants, flowers, gifts and cards.
For more information, please call Rumwell Farm Shop, which is located in Rumwell between Taunton and Wellington, on 01823 461599, visit www.rumwellfarmshop.com, follow the company on Twitter at www.twitter.com/rumwellfarmshop or log on to www.facebook.com/Rumwellfarmshop.