Do you shop locally?

[Liv]

Hey everyone,

Thinking about lockdown affecting us all in different ways, I’ve noticed a trend of people realising that shopping locally is now more important than ever. 

I’ve been seeing several amazing initiatives around the world aiming to support small businesses, from online guided haircuts to bar and restaurant vouchers (to be used when shops are reopened).

With this in mind, I would love to know: 

How is your local community coming together to assist small-scale businesses and have you got any favourite local shops that you’ve been supporting lately?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts,

Liv

[Yadira22]

Hi @Liv ,

I did not know if you were able to mention the business here, so shared their details on DM. 

However, as a side note wanted to also mention initiatives such as "Farms to Feed Us" a UK based one which connects local regional farmers etc with consumers as, overcoming the food shortage crisis the UK faced initially by people's panic buying. Their database not only provides veggies, and meats but also baked/baking goods, flowers, etc. Meaning you look up your region, what you want to purchase and get hold of the vendor directly- cutting out the "middle man", support local businesses, prevent food waste and most also deliver to your residence.

I would love to see other countries create a similar databases. 

🙂

[Liv]

@Yadira22 That initiative is amazing, I hadn't heard of it! I really appreciate your tips, thank you so much for sharing 🙂 

[David6824]

Hello @Liv , in Rome neighborhood open markets have been always open and found my preferred local farmers every week, we had to carry the filled form in the pocket just in case of a check-control and that's it. Now things have changed from last Monday everything re-opened, I hope it will be soon in London too. cheers 🙂

[Liv]

@David6824 Thanks! I also hope that soon we'll all be able to safely enjoy farmers markets in person again 🙂

[Sarah977]

I've always shopped locally as much as possible. I do go to Costco and the supermarket for things that simply aren't available anywhere else locally. Fruit, veggies and eggs are something I always buy locally. But as much as I like to support local business, when the vendor at the local farmer's market wants three times as much for his yoghurt than I can buy good yoghurt for in the supermarket, I'll take a pass.

And presently, stores like Costco are enforcing mask wearing and distancing, whareas my local stores are not, so that's a factor as well.

[David6824]

@Sarah977 well I think you have to decide, cost vs. quality. yoghurt at local farmers is home made, at your retailer chain is industrial, local farmers have their costs while for factories is much cheaper with industrial production. It's like buying bio food (organic) rather than mass production ones. Finally it's your choice and based on your budget. Eg.: As a single I'd buy a good tasty egg even if I'd pay three times the supermarket, If I'm in a family of 5 making scrambled eggs everyday for everyone I'll think it twice. Got it?

[Sarah977]

Yep, I agree with you. I never mind paying a bit more to get a quality product and to support locals. I don't generally penny pinch with buying good food. I wouldn't buy Skippy peanut butter because it's cheaper than natural, organic. As for the yoghurt, the one I buy in the supermarket isn't from some huge company, like Yoplait. It's actually made by a small, regional company and is organic. The coffee I buy at Costco is produced by a national company, not the imported from the US Costco brand. I try not to put much money in the hands of multinationals.

I buy all my hardware supplies in the local mom and pop hardware stores, rather than Home Depot. I bought my appliances from family-owned appliance stores, not some big box store.

The thing is, I live in a really pricey tourist town. The prices at the local farmers market are geared for tourists, not locals. The pricing is more like what an American or Canadian would be used to paying back home, even though the cost of the ingredients are much less expensive here and the cost of living is way less. The farmer's market here is so geared to tourists that it only functions during tourist season- it's closed from May-November. 

I like supporting locals and buying quality products, but I don't like being taken advantage of. I don't know where you live, but if you lived in a town that mostly survives off of tourism, and where people tend to see anyone who isn't Mexican as a rich ***** with unlimited quantities of cash, you'd get what I'm talking about. 

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[David6824]

@Sarah977 ***** AHAH reminds me the spaghetti westerns ! In rome sometimes we have double prices, one for locals and the other one for ***** LOL, eg.: I pay an espresso 80cents without receipt while the gringos pay 1.10euros within receipt.

It's up to you to find and agree special deals with the locals, if you're american could be a bit harder than being a local in mexico 😉

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[Sarah977]

@David6824  Yes, exactly the same here- ***** price and local price. Not everyone makes that distinction and tries to overcharge just because you're white, but some do. I know who to bargain with and who it would be rude to bargain with. As a craftsperson myself, I would never disrespect a jeweler, for instance, selling the items he has crafted himself, by trying to chisel him down on the price. But the middlemen, who walk around with cases of mass-produced rings and bracelets asking 4 times the price that you can buy it for in a store in the city, I just laugh at when they try to reel me in.

I have a friend here who's French, although she lived in the US for 40 years before relocating to Mexico. She's quite chic, takes great pains with her appearance. She asked me once why she got quoted twice the price others pay by local builders for construction projects. I advised her to take off the gold jewelry, and skip the make-up and the nice clothes when she meets with someone to get a quote. She took it to heart and now she doesn't get taken advantage of nearly so much.

That guy who sells his homemade yoghurt- it's not just his prices that turned me off- he shouts out to everyone who walks by his booth "It's gluten-free!" which is an insult to my intelligence- it's yoghurt, of course it's gluten-free 🙂 And I'm not someone who is under the impression that gluten is some kind of poison to anyone who isn't a celiac, anyway. 

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[David6824]

@Sarah977 gluten-free yoghurt HAHA. Senti yesterday I wanted to celebrate the easing lock-down going to a vintage restaurant in the city center, they tried to charge me 10 euros more on the bill. idiots, idiots are all the way around the world. LOL

[Liv]

Hi @Sarah977, that's absolutely true! It's not always possible to support small shops, especially due to the unfortunate fact that prices are not accessible to everyone. However, you make a good point for looking for local brands when shopping at supermarkets 🙂

[David6824]

@Sarah977 

look at the guys, once is holding the mask on his hand while the other one is smoking cigs one after another, and they look to have a big conversation HAHAHA

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[Sarah977]

@David6824  Yes, there's people of all ages who are covidiots. Perhaps the world should dedicate one country to all the ignorant, stupid and arrogant people, they can all move there and let the rest of us get on with intelligent life.

[David6824]

LOL your project is funny. Yes we all have this since ages, it's not made by different lands as you say, it's made by our education and it started from greeks thousands of years ago. Do you really want to jail someones in a different land? *sensitive content removed*

[Yuan100]

Hi @Liv 

A great topic to discuss. I try to support local hawker centres (food stalls) over here in Singapore and some of my favourite coffee joints with takeaways 3-4 times a week. I rather go to the shops itself (for food wise) so that they won't get charged commissions by 3rd party food delivery app. If they do provide their own delivery, I would deal directly with them. 

I have friends been supporting me by buying my homebaked cakes since I am not work at the moment (my job as a nail artist). My guest bought my brownies to send to her friend here. I am so glad to have such supportive people around me 😄

Yuan