Buy local, it's a great investment

Dour economic news bombards us from all sides, which gets everyone all in a panic. Let's take a brief moment to step off of the index rollercoasters and try to take charge of what we know we can affect. A stable national economy starts with stable local economies. Take care of the home front first. How do you create a stronger local economy?

BUY LOCAL FIRST.

The last word may be the most important one, especially for those new to the movement toward local. Sometimes I hear from folks that it's unreasonable to buy everything locally. And you know what? That's absolutely true. Personally, I love bananas. And coffee. Neither of those items grows anywhere in the Puget Sound region (except maybe in a hothouse somewhere). They aren't local, but I'm still going to buy them. The key point is to buy local first. For instance, there are a lot of Washington farms growing a lot of potatoes. Instead of buying potatoes from somewhere else (Idaho, China, wherehaveyou) I choose Washington grown potatoes. Same thing goes for any other product. Buy local first. You don't have to completely overhaul your purchasing, just choose local products over non-local ones. Consider the money you spend locally as an investment in the future of your neighborhood, your city, your county, your state. By spending money within your community, you help build the strength of your local economy. And that's a great start to creating a sunny economic forecast.

Links:

San Francisco drafting food policy