A couple of months into the pandemic, my wife and I decided that it was time to start buying local.
The impetus for our decision came after a visit to a local eatery. The small place, once bustling with customers and staff, was deserted. The food-warmer trays sat empty.
The owner sounded despondent as he handed over our take-out order and said, “Not sure how long I can keep this going.” The business was down nearly seventy-five percent, he added.
As I wished him luck and walked out, I felt depressed. I realized that many business owners like him were struggling to make ends meet.
Buying local seemed the right thing to do to support the local economy.
I remembered the Starfish Story. I can’t save them all. But, if I could help save one, that is better than doing nothing.
We took stock of things that we had purchased over the past three months.
Most of our household items were bought through Amazon and Wayfair. Walmart and Instacart delivered our groceries. My wife’s clothing and accessory purchases came from online specialty stores based mainly in the US.
We were doing a poor job of buying local.
It wasn’t intentional.
Price and the range of choices available through the larger online retailers were the main factors that influenced our purchases. If buying local meant paying a little bit more, we were willing to do that.
The trouble was, determining what constituted buying local.
Buying foreign-made goods from a Canadian department store chain such as The Bay or Simons didn’t feel like buying local. Picking up maple syrup from Joe’s Convenience did.
But, there was a limit to how many pancakes I could eat.
Globalization and the reach of e-commerce giants have made it difficult for the average consumer to support local businesses.
I tried to buy local through Amazon. That was a non-starter. Ever try to filter products on Amazon by the manufacturing country?
Time to start shopping on Not Amazon!
Groceries and produce seemed like a better place to start.
A quick look-up on foodnetwork.ca showed that Canada had an abundance of locally grown fruits and vegetables. All I had to do was determine which vegetables were in season and pick them out at the grocery store.
It was easier said than done.
Trying to minimize time spent at the grocery store while picking out Ontario potatoes over the ones that came from Idaho wasn’t easy. Things like garlic and carrots were even more challenging. I had recently watched Rotten, the award-winning investigative documentary on Netflix.
My trust in the global food supply chain was low.
Briefly, I considered cannabis, an industry that was undoubtedly local. However, the idea of picking up a dubious new habit in the middle of a pandemic didn’t seem ideal.
Finally, we landed on the one industry that was truly local and in dire straits.
The food services business.
Many restaurants and bars around us had closed and laid off almost all their staff. The ones that remained open were hamstrung by government regulations that required them to confine their operations to take-out and delivery services. The restaurants in and around our neighbourhood could use all the support they can get.
If the thought of supporting local eateries in your area has crossed your mind, here are a few things to keep in mind.
Standalone restaurants are more vulnerable than chains
A standalone mom-and-pop eatery is more vulnerable than a restaurant chain. Do not forget that some of the fine dining restaurants in your city are also owner-operated. In fact, with higher rents and operating costs, such restaurants are perhaps more exposed than your neighbourhood pizza joint.
Choose take-out over delivery
With work-at-home and eat-at-home, the only options for many, food delivery companies have been raking it in. How else would you justify a $ 60 billion plus market cap for DoorDash, a food delivery company?
Restaurants make less money when they engage a delivery service such as DoorDash or Skip the Dishes who charge delivery fees as high as 30% to deliver food orders. Any food picked up through the restaurants’ direct take-out service potentially puts the delivery charges’ cost into the restaurant operator’s pocket.
Prepared foods vs. heat and eat meal kits
This one is a matter of preference. Heat and eat food from restaurants is different from the meal kits delivered from companies such as GoodFood. In my opinion, app-based food-kit businesses are less impacted when compared to brick-and-mortar restaurants.
While prepared foods come ready to eat, the heat-and-eat meal kits involve some level of prepping, which gives it a more personal DIY feel.
Alcohol inclusion with take-out food
Including a couple of beers along with your take-out food order may not make financial sense. But, if a drink or two along with your food is the norm when you dine at a restaurant, why not occasionally replicate it when you order take-out? It is no secret that, unlike perishable food items, the margin on alcohol sales is higher and more dependable for restaurant operators. Stories of restaurants leaning heavily on their liquor sales for survival have been in the news of late.
Be willing to pay more
Buying local may often entail paying more.
When it comes to price and selection, local businesses can seldom compete with the Amazons and Walmarts of this world. Supporting a business in your community has to be a conscious decision that may come at a cost.
For now, I have decided that I can live with it. It’s the least that I can do.
Every time I order food from one of the local restaurants, I feel like I have thrown one more beached starfish back into the ocean.
It’s my version of the starfish story.
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