Living in a village changes the way you think about local shops. Rushlake Green Village Stores is not merely somewhere to pick up milk when you have run out. It is part food shop, part Post Office, part meeting place and an important thread in everyday village life.

Sitting beside the green in the heart of Rushlake Green, it is the sort of shop where a quick visit can reveal far more than expected: fresh bread and pastries, fruit and vegetables, cheeses, deli foods and locally produced treats alongside the everyday essentials.

Local food without the supermarket journey.

One of the pleasures of a good village store is discovering food made close to home. Rushlake Green Village Stores works with local and regional suppliers, with products including locally baked breads and sourdough, dairy produce, cakes, sandwiches and seasonal fruit and vegetables.

That makes it useful for more than emergency shopping. It is somewhere to find ingredients for lunch, build a cheeseboard, collect something freshly baked or discover a Sussex producer that might otherwise have gone unnoticed.

The selection has grown considerably over the years. A feature about the shop described an expanded range that included quality oils, vinegars, pasta and deli products, as well as an impressive choice of cheeses—not quite what people expect from a small village shop.

A shop at the heart of the village.

The value of the store became especially clear during the pandemic. When people were avoiding large supermarkets or unable to leave their homes, the team worked extraordinarily hard to maintain supplies and organise local deliveries.

Tony Field had exchanged a long career in IT project management for village-shop life after moving away from London. That experience unexpectedly proved useful when demand increased, deliveries became unreliable and the shop had to adapt almost overnight.

At its busiest, the team was arranging at least 15 deliveries a day while continuing to serve customers and operate the Post Office. The service became a lifeline for local people, and the Post Office was subsequently named a regional finalist for community engagement.

From Rushlake Green to Heathfield.

The story has continued to grow. In December 2025, Rushlake Green Village Stores opened a second shop on Heathfield High Street, bringing its local produce and independent spirit to a wider community.

That expansion feels significant at a time when so many high streets are losing independent businesses. Rather than remaining a single village shop, RGVS has shown that a thoughtful local range, personal service and strong relationships with nearby producers can work beyond the village green too.

Why village shops matter.

Shopping locally will not replace every supermarket visit, but it does something a supermarket cannot. It keeps money circulating among small businesses, gives local producers somewhere to sell their food and helps preserve a service that the whole village relies upon.

It also encourages a different kind of shopping: buying what is fresh, noticing what has arrived that morning and allowing an ingredient on the shelf to inspire the next meal.

For me, this is exactly what Sussex Food should celebrate—not only restaurants and specialist producers, but the independent shops that quietly connect good local food with the communities around them.

Read more about the story behind the village shop and see the Countryside Alliance’s 2026 regional winners.