Support your local stores

While it is not always possible to buy what you need locally, one should always try to think local first.

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There are many benefits to our communities and to each of us to choosing local, independently owned businesses.

Several studies have shown that when you buy from an independent, locally owned business, rather than nationally owned businesses, significantly more of your money is used to make purchases from other local businesses, service providers and farms, continuing to strengthen the economic base of the community.

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Where we shop, where we eat and have fun, all of it makes our community home. Our one-of-a-kind businesses are an integral part of the distinctive character of this place. Our tourism businesses also benefit.

Locally owned businesses can make more local purchases requiring less transportation and generally set up shop in town or city centres. This generally means contributing less to congestion, habitat loss and pollution.

Local produce has longer to ripen on the vine because it doesn’t have to travel long distances. This gives you a tastier, vine-ripened product.

Buying local food keeps us in touch with the seasons. Not everything is available all year round, meaning what grows is the most abundant, least expensive and at its peak.

Small local businesses are the largest employer nationally and in our community, provide the most jobs to residents.

Local businesses often hire people with a better understanding of the products they are selling and take more time to get to know customers.

These businesses are owned by people who live in this community, are less likely to leave, and are more invested in the community’s future.