"Going local does not mean walling off the outside world. It means nurturing locally owned businesses which use local resources sustainably, employ local workers at decent wages and serve primarily local consumers. It means becoming more self-sufficient and less dependant on imports. Control moves from the boardrooms of distant corporations and back into the community where it belongs.”
– Michael H. Shuman, author of the book Going Local
Since March of 2020 during pandemic times, the MooseJawExpress/MooseJawToday.com has invested approximately $150,000 into our local economy by providing free and discounted ads to local businesses. We have endeavoured to provide an opportunity to promote their businesses, while times were tough and money was tight, during a season when many businesses had to close their doors, For those businesses that have survived through this harsh reality, we continue to promote shopping local. In this edition, the Shop Local section features numerous businesses, as we whole-heartedly believe in investing in the community we live and work in.
Shopping local helps our local economy survive and flourish. It causes stability in the work force and creates an avenue to work and shop in their own community. As our local businesses are able to flourish, our local charities and fundraisers benefit too.
In an online article, Ten Reasons to Shop Local, Tad shares some insight on the subject.
“When you purchase at locally owned businesses, more money is kept in the community because locally-owned businesses often purchase from other local businesses, service providers and farms. Purchasing local helps grow other businesses as well as the local tax base.
“Local business owners donate more to local charities than non-local owners.
“The unique character of your local community is defined in large part by the business that reside there, and that plays a big factor in your overall satisfaction with where you live and the value of you home and property.
“Small local business provides a centralized variety that is much friendlier to a community’s walk score than out of town shopping malls.
“Small local businesses are the largest employers nationally. Plus the more jobs you have in your local community the less people are going to have to commute which means more time and less traffic and pollution.
“Local businesses often hire people with more specific product expertise for better customer service. You are also going to see these people around town and they are less likely to blow you off or be rude because they have to face you day after day.
“Local businesses are owned by people who live in this community, are less likely to leave, and are more invested in the community’s welfare and future.
“Local businesses require comparatively little infrastructure and more efficiently utilize public services relative to chain stores.
“A marketplace of thousands of small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices over the long-term.
“Exert influence with your purchasing choices, or “voting with your wallet. It’s a fact that businesses respond to their customers but your values and desires are much more influential to your local community business than the large big box stores.”
The article can be found at: https://thelocalgood.ca/top-10-reasons-to-shop-local/
We believe in Growing our Community by Shopping Local, Spending Local, Eating Local and Enjoying Local!
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
