Shop Locally

[one...two...tree 2,762]

by Peter Rothberg, The Nation

According to the 3/50 Project, for every $100 spent in locally owned independent stores, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll, and other expenditures. If you spend that with a national chain, only $43 stays at home. Spend it online and nothing stays in the community.

So, shopping locally is one of the best means available to support an economy based on small businesses rather than large corporations, to maintain regional diversity, to help sustain local public schools, to increase community job creation, and to maintain the availability of a wide range of products, good, services, media and food based, not on a national sales plan, but on the interests, needs and peculiarities of local communities as determined by community members themselves. This blog post by Rieva Lesonsky, Consulting Editor at BizWomen.com, explains well why it's so important to support local businesses.

The 3/50 Project is trying to make it easy to drop your dollars in ways that maximize the benefit to small brick and mortar institutions. The goal is simple: Ask consumers to frequent three local brick and mortar businesses they don't want to see disappear, and to spend $50 per month at each establishment.

As Cinda Baxter, founder of the project, blogged in March, "It's about funneling revenue back into local business. You know---the folks that pour money back into the community via commercial property taxes, payroll taxes, sales tax, and salaries (not to mention all that good will by way of volunteer time, silent auctions, sponsored softball teams, workshops, book signings, etc.)."

This short newscast from a local ABC affiliate noted the potential impact of local shopping in Lincoln, Nebraska.

A nice article by Raymund Flandez at WSJ.com detailed the success of the project in assisting many small business owners like a group of 19 independent businesses in Skippack, Pa. which each put in $10 to print 2,000 postcards that advertised to local customers that if they spent $150 total at any of the participating businesses, they'd get 10 percent off meals in local restaurants. More than 50 people have taken up the offer, handing in their postcards with stapled receipts to get a discounted dinner and many more are expected in the coming weeks. The blossoming of many small efforts like this coast to coast can literally mean survival for many longtime family businesses.

The project's website offers a range of opportunities for getting involved and, if you run an independent business, for receiving assistance. It's also very easy to spread the word about the campaign with free downloads and other tools.

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/actnow/455050/shop_locally

[Emancipation 2]

I think this looks nice on paper.. try living it.. I watched a man in our local market spend $100.00 on groceries that I could have bought at a discount chain for about $30.00-35.00. There was no meat, just veggies and a few cleaning supplies etc. I was agast when he left with 3 small bags of groceries for his $100.00. Quite frankly if I had to live like this... I would only be eating a meal a day due to financial constraints.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

More feel-good hippie garbage.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I think this looks nice on paper.. try living it.. I watched a man in our local market spend $100.00 on groceries that I could have bought at a discount chain for about $30.00-35.00. There was no meat, just veggies and a few cleaning supplies etc. I was agast when he left with 3 small bags of groceries for his $100.00. Quite frankly if I had to live like this... I would only be eating a meal a day due to financial constraints.

Really? That's significant. We have both local mom and pop places and chains all around us. We found a tiny Filipino market within a couple of miles from us and even if the prices are slightly higher than going to a Asian Market chain, I think it's worth spending the extra money. We still buy the basics at the chain stores though.

Edited July 24, 2009 by Col. 'Bat' Guano

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

We still buy the basics at the chain stores though.

Corporatist swine!

[one...two...tree 2,762]

More feel-good hippie garbage.

Hey man...where else can you find your petuli oil and incense sticks all in one place?

We still buy the basics at the chain stores though.

Corporatist swine!

Mmmm....bacon.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

I buy my produce at a nearby farmer's market - none of the supermarkets can compete on price or quality. For the meat, there's a little local Latino store where, again, none of the supermarkets can compete on quality and price. This gets tricky, though, when you're out to buy other household items - there you're local supermarket beats mom-and-pop hands down.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I buy my produce at a nearby farmer's market - none of the supermarkets can compete on price or quality. For the meat, there's a little local Latino store where, again, none of the supermarkets can compete on quality and price. This gets tricky, though, when you're out to buy other household items - there you're local supermarket beats mom-and-pop hands down.

It's rare to find any local hardware stores anymore....everywhere I go, I see Home Depot. We have about 3 of them all within a 5 mile radius. Corporate pigs.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Well my area doesn't have decent grocery stores - so have to drive miles out of the way to get decent stuff.

I'm not supporting businesses that sell shite stuff.

[reeses16 8]

I used to buy at the farmers market when I lived in TN & LA. But since I moved to Seattle its too expensive, the Farmers market is mostly organic (Which isn't bad) but they charge $3-5 for lettuce and tomatoes are $5.99/lb. I moved to Seattle around the same time that food prices were climbing so maybe that's part of it. I find myself shopping at 2-3 stores to get better prices and quality.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Well my area doesn't have decent grocery stores - so have to drive miles out of the way to get decent stuff.

I'm not supporting businesses that sell shite stuff.

Are talking about local grocers? There's a small Indian/British grocery market where we live. We've eaten lunch there, but neither one of us feels confident enough to know what we'd be buying and how to cook it.

[Amby 490]

We have one locally owned store here and things cost almost double what they cost at the bigger chain store and about 3 times as much as they do at somewhere like WalMart. Their produce quality is #######. They actually have days where seniors get like 20% off on Wednesdays or something just to get more people to come in.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

The best produce we've found hasn't been at the supermarkets or at the local asian/indian places or at the farmers market.

It's at Costco!

[one...two...tree 2,762]

The best produce we've found hasn't been at the supermarkets or at the local asian/indian places or at the farmers market.

It's at Costco!

Everything's in bulk though. The farmer's markets out here are where you'll find the freshest, locally grown produce.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Well my area doesn't have decent grocery stores - so have to drive miles out of the way to get decent stuff.

I'm not supporting businesses that sell shite stuff.

Are talking about local grocers? There's a small Indian/British grocery market where we live. We've eaten lunch there, but neither one of us feels confident enough to know what we'd be buying and how to cook it.

There aren't local grocers around where we live - just have chains, except for a small Seabras that's near my bus stop.

I rarely go in there - the place smells like @ss.