Keeping it Real
WORDS: Sarah Marjoribanks
IMAGES: Daria Higgins
IMAGES: Daria Higgins
These days, there’s a lot of thought about what we put in or on our body. Is it local and sustainable? Is our money supporting small business? What are all these ingredients listed on the packaging? Honestly, it can be exhausting. Luckily, there are local champions like Farm Table doing the hard work for us. This down-to-earth neighbourhood store in Linden has done away with all the pretensions usually associated with good-for-you-and-the-planet products, and stocks an incredible variety of beautifully farmed and created produce – the kind of stuff that makes grocery shopping fun again.
“I always say, we’re not a health store – just a food store with real ingredients,”
“It blows my mind that we’ve got customers that have been shopping with us since they were pregnant and now have 6-year-olds – how’s that for next level loyalty?” say Kerry Maher, owner of Farm Table, when I ask about the typical Farm Table customer. “Some of our older customers tell us that our produce tastes like the veggies of their youth, and our younger customers are so keen to learn and make the right purchasing choices.”
Kerry opened Farm Table in 2016 after dreaming about it for many years. She’d first completed her chef diploma, then worked in the restaurant industry before becoming more and more interested in where our food comes from, how it’s farmed and the practices behind its production. “I realised that there were also a lot of small-scale farmers growing incredible organic produce that really deserved a market. The ‘roots’ of Farm Table had the potential to run deep,” she says. “Then a small space opened in Linden and I took the leap.”
Starting with a lot of empty shelves and space, the shop grew organically, item by item, supplier by supplier. Eventually the shelves heaved with produce, so much so that it was time to find a new home. Today Farm Table is in new premises three times the size of the first shop.
Aside from being able to fill Farm Table’s shelves, Kerry’s major highlight over the past six years has been working with the people that she does – from watching her employees grow, to being part of a like-minded community of business owners and buying products she believes in from people doing what they love.
However, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. “Being a solo entrepreneur can be a lonely journey, and you’re really forced to dig deep at times. Failure is just not an option, despite whatever economic forces and politics throws at us. Cash flow, funding, equipment breakdowns and many, many school fees have all played a part in the journey.”
Ultimately, though, Kerry has been struck by the effect that a small business can have on so many people, and how essential it is for everyone in the value chain to play their part. “No one is alone. We are all intertwined and our actions have a ripple effect on others. So many have so much, and even more have so little – it’s essential to be aware of this all the time.”
So, what are some of the coolest finds she’s sourced for the shop? As Kerry says, there’s almost too many to mention! But if she had to highlight just a few… the bakes from local micro-bakery Linden Loaves, skincare from Esse – a homegrown global leader in probiotic skincare, and wines made in a natural, low-intervention style that matches the philosophy she applies to her store. “El Burro’s Mexican products, Home Bao’s potstickers, The Leopard’s meals… there really are so many world-class local producers. In fact, there’s got to be a better comparison than to the world – South Africa is amazing!”
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