In this morning’s Idaho Statesman, Rhonda Abrams posted an article focusing on the value of shopping locally. This article rings especially true with us at Bella Kitchen and our neighbors. The article titled, “Local Businesses Build Local Communities” focuses on several benefits of shopping locally.
Small companies have gotten smarter. In order to compete with the gazillion dollar operating/advertising budgets of national chains, we as small businesses have to compete with better services, products, competitive prices, and a real focus on customer service. Local businesses build local communities by creating local jobs and building the tax base, which pays for the future by providing more monies for schools, library, our firehouse EMTs, and countless other services.
Trying to practice what I preach, I took our typical Boise grocery list and kept it in the city limits. Not only did I find bulk almonds, wonderful coffee, Sriracha, loose-leaf green tea, skinny cat food for our 24lb. kitty and Murray's favorite non-allergenic dog food, but I also enjoyed the opportunity to be part of the moment and visit with our merchants who are also friends and neighbors. Compared with the five hours of drive time, the $40 in gas, and the challenges of traffic, I found many additional benefits in the way that I was spending my time including a chance to visit the library. A welcome interlude which would not have been possible with the Boise trip.
Please consider the following example: when I buy a new sauté pan at Bella instead of Boise, not only do I have the opportunity to save a tank of gas, those five hours of drive time, lessen my impact on the environment and free up time to enjoy friends, but I have a direct impact on the health of a local business. The $72 spent at Bella is a large percentage of Bella’s sales target for the day whereas that same $72 spent at Williams-Sonoma doesn’t have the same impact by a mile – or 111 miles for that matter. And, consider when Bella has a busy successful day, that success often translates into dinner out. An exponential local economic impact.
I realize that our community doesn’t have everything that we need to purchase. I encourage each of us to look locally first before jumping to any conclusions. McCall does have some fabulous merchants that work very hard to be competitive. We don’t have an automatic 5000ft tax, and quite often the price of buying locally is the same or less than Internet shopping + shipping. Our grocery stores have really expanded the specialty food items and have been very good about responding to consumer’s needs.
We have one of the very best wine shops in all of Idaho right here. Our outdoor sports stores are owned and run by actual enthusiasts and athletes that use the equipment, know the reps, and can help fit you to the boot. Or the ski, the bike, snow machine, the boat, and the jacket. They know which fly is hitting at what lake, and where the best sack lunch can be found.
Every purchase in McCall is an investment in McCall. Since we have made the decision to live here, we need to shop here whenever we can. Take a look around to become educated about the products and services that we have to offer. Explore your town. Whether you need a new drill press, a ski jacket, a remodel, or kitchen staging for one of our new condominium projects, all of the money that we spend here ends up circulating through the community from one end of our valley to the other, benefiting both sides of the equation.
