Our new resolution

We are going to stop shopping at supermarkets. That's right, no Tesco, no Sainsbury's, no Waitrose. Just local shops, small producers, farmer's markets and of course our weekly Abel and Cole delivery.

We decided this a couple of weeks ago after a long discussion one evening about how both of us feel about the large conglomerate companies that are monopolising the market, homogenizing the high streets, driving out small independent shops and tricking us all into thinking that food should be cheap, when actually it takes time, effort and care to grow and make good produce and prices should reflect that. We are also a household that are increasingly concerned about the ethical and environmental impact of our lives, and want to know that what we buy reflects this.

We are in a position to make positive choices about how and where we shop. There is a local farmer's market where we can buy fruit and vegetables, cheeses, preserves and breads direct from local produces, Abel and Cole provide not only our weekly stables in fresh produce, but also organic wines, pantry goods and almost anything else you could wish for in the food, drink and household line. There is a health food shop two streets away that stocks the flour, soya and slightly more difficult to source organic or veggie goods we like. Our local shop, knows as "Friendly man" (because it is run by a very nice friendly man), has all sorts of goodness packed away in the tardis of his shop, and for other things (such as the difficult to find organic baking powder and agave syrup that I bought today) there are places like Planet Organic.

Our last online Tesco shop arrived yesterday and so from now on we're hanging up the loyalty cards.

Here begins a new stage in our food adventures. It's really very exciting!