Buying Local: Keep it up!

Homer,  NY

I've written many times about buying local.  I've listed benefits of buying local (see this), and I've suggested items to buy and places to go to support local producers and growers. The good news is, it seems that people are trying to shop local.  This article, "Independent Businesses Report Strong Holiday Sales", provided results from a survey of 1,768 Independent Businesses that found that holiday sales were up 6.7 % on average for independent retailers (overall sales were up only 4.1 %).  In addition,  independent retailers surveyed reported that public awareness of the benefits of supporting locally owned businesses had increased in the last year, and communities with active "Buy Local" campaigns operated by a local business organization had higher local sales.  Here the Cortland Downtown Partnership has a Buy Local campaign and the Cortland County Chamber of Commerce ran a Holiday "Buy Local" assistance program this past season.

A friend posted a link to "Why Shop Local?" on their FaceBook page, and I thought it was worth repeating:

Cortland, NY

"When you buy from a small local business you are not paying for a third vacation home for some CEO.  You are paying for dance lessons; you are buying a little-league uniform.  You are putting food on a family's table and sending a student to college.  You are helping the American Dream come true for somebody in our community.  Somebody you probably know.  Shop local!"

Let's keep up the good work!