Several years ago I decided to give up supermarkets for lent, then found it was so convenient I've stuck to it ever since. I have never regretted it, although I do allow myself some flexibility on special occasions if there's something I simply cannot source anywhere else. This rarely happens.

The majority of our food is sourced from our village community shop and our weekly organic veggie box delivery. This also has the advantage that we have very little in terms of plastic packaging.

As a farmer's daughter I am very much aware of what goes into the making of food. I am passionate that my supply chain supports small and local growers.

Just as supermarkets have changed the landscape for local groceries, so have online retailers for town-centre shops. The biggest and most popular seem to be going for complete market domination, from retail to streaming services. They may be convenient, and cheap, but what is their legacy?

Recently I was saddened to hear that our local bookshop in Liskeard was having to shut down, due to lack of custom. This loss of local businesses is being played out throughout the UK.

I do feel councils could support local businesses more. Cutting in-town car-parking charges would help, as not everyone can walk or cycle to the shops. They could then slap a mandatory charge for supermarket parking to be paid into the council coffers, to balance out their loss of income. I appreciate this probably wouldn't be popular, but it would be ethical…

So in a nutshell our retail landscape has changed. The adage use it or lose it is still very much true. If your town centre is failing, ask yourself: "Am I doing all I can to help it survive?" Community is the key to resilience, and local retail is very much part of the bigger picture.