I ran across an interesting statistic the other day -
"For every $100 spend with local businesses, $43 stays in your local economy. For every $100 spent with non local businesses, $13 stays in your local economy."
Wow - that opened my eyes!
If you've followed my blog for a while, you'll know I am a huge proponent in shopping local. There are so many fantastic "Mom and Pop" shops in both Tucson and Las Cruces! Great restaurants, clothing stores, jewelry stores, business supply, repair, dry cleaning...on and on and on.
The one thing that I always keep in mind when deciding where to shop is that the owner/s could be my next door neighbor. Multi-generational businesses have been in our communities for decades. They've been part of the way our community has been shaped. Local businesses and restaurants are where we always take out of town guests. It's where we've celebrated special occasions, held birthday parties and receptions, bought special gifts.
These days, I'm seeing more and more groups and organizations showing up that support and promote shopping local. I've written about the 3/50 Project in the past. They are continuing their great work across the nation and I've seen a few of their window stickers around town.
A new-ish group has shown up, promoting shopping local in Arizona called Local First Arizona.
We all know local business owners and I know we all would hate to see them have to close their doors. We lose a bit when they close for good. We all need to think about the purchases we need to make and make an attempt to do that buying within our community.
Besides - no one else can make those delicious green enchiladas like my favorite Mexican restaurant, El Comedor!!
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