THE butcher the baker the – well, you know the rest – but for most of us, these are largely memories, part of  the way things used to be, high streets full of independent shops selling fresh local produce or home produced food.


Local shops contribute a great deal to the economic health of rural areas, but there is no getting away from the fact that they have been under the cosh for some years, threatened - not just from large supermarkets - but by ever rising costs, pressures on budgets and, more recently, the boom in internet shopping. 


There was a discussion at our recent Somerset CLA branch committee about how we can encourage consumers to think about where their produce comes from and to buy British fruit and vegetables in order to support the rural economy. 


Its an idea that has been picked up by ministers and MPs and that’s music to the ears for those of us that work in the rural sector because it echoes the theme of a CLA campaign we ran for a long time called:” Just Ask” which encouraged people to choose locally-produced, seasonal food with a “Think Local; Act Local; Buy Local” slogan.


Of course, its not just fruit and veg. Have a look around - there is an extravagant wealth of fantastic food grown, caught, reared and processed in Somerset. Fresh local fish, and shellfish, home-grown meat, poultry and game, hand made pies and sausages, farm fresh vegetables and the spectacular selection of beers, ciders and cheeses to name a few examples. Its all high quality, traceable food.
With Christmas a few short weeks away a small shift in consumers’ buying habits would make a huge difference to our local economy.