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Buy Close By, Preserve Community
by Gavin Noyes
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Our community is the group of people we share the most in common with, next to our family and friends. They are the people we shop with, work with, meet for dinner, attend concerts with, as well as share the weather, the air we breathe, and the water we drink. Our taxes fund the same services and community projects that we enjoy. Our community is our tribe, and includes our land, its people, and the resources we must share in order to survive and thrive here. Our community is our past and our future home, and our actions shape it every day.
Local First Utah is a grassroots, non-profit consumer and community advocacy group which works to strengthen local economies through the promotion of locally owned businesses. In the past year, we have registered almost 700 businesses through our statewide online directory www.localfirst.org whom we supply with “Local First Utah” window stickers and promotional materials. This service is free to both businesses and consumers. Local ownership of business and support for these businesses is important because like you and me, these individuals are personal stakeholders in our local community. Chain stores are the traveling salesmen of the modern era. They will stay in our community so long as it is profitable to stay. Similarly, the manufacturing plants they operate in China, India, or Mexico they will call “home” only as long as those communities provide their corporation the most profitable place to manufacture goods.
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| Buy Local First Week is coming up November 11th-18th. On November 14th author Stacy Mitchell will be talking about her new book, Big Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America’s Independent Businesses, at 7 PM at Westminster’s Business School’s, Gore Auditorium. This event is free and open to the public. All week we will be promoting the benefits of shopping locally by highlighting great businesses throughout our community in time for the holiday season. Go to our business directory online at www.localfirst.org, and watch for the Local First print directory coming out in 2007. |
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As consumers, we’ve never had it so good. We are seemingly doted upon by retailers, who pay attention to every detail of our behavior by offering us the sights, sounds, smells of limitless new products and suggestions on how they might improve our lifestyles. Chain stores and big boxes are on the leading edge when it comes to feeding and shaping our shopping habits, but it is these same stores that may be handing us the short end of the stick when it comes to protecting our communities and values.
Local First Utah believes that by paying attention to the details at a local level, we can each play a role in improving our community. We do not advocate for scowling and sneering as you see a Wal-mart, but rather just taking the time to think (as you drive by) about how your hard earned dollars can bring about the most positive change for you, and your community. We believe that local businesses are a better bet for the future of our community and our unique culture which depends on them. This is the basis of the Buy Local First campaign. A few extra customers per week mean a lot to a small business owner. Educate yourself about where you can buy local, if you want a cup of coffee check out www.localfirst.org, there are 15 listings under “Coffee and Tea”. Learn which grocery stores are locally owned. Harmons and Reams qualify, Dan’s comes really close, as it is owned by the Salt Lake-based food distribution cooperative, Associated Foods. As consumers, educate yourself about the consequences of your spending, and if your favorite local business isn’t registered with Local First Utah, encourage them to join as we build a comprehensive, statewide local business directory.
Thanks for buying Local First.
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| Gavin Noyes was hired in June as the Executive Director of Local First Utah. In addition to this part-time position, he works as an artist and small business owner of “Utahyaki Ceramics.” He has a background in environmental non-profit work and a degree from the University of Michigan in Natural Resources and Japanese. Gavin was born and raised in Salt Lake City. He is an avid lover of the Wasatch Mtns., the red rock desert, and just about everything else unique to Utah. |
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Miracle Max: Don't rush me sonny. You rush a miracle man, you get rotten miracles. |
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