Why Shop Local?
Olivia Spitzer
A common rallying phrase for small businesses and farmers’ markets alike is the call to “shop local.” We’ve all heard it, but have you ever stopped to wonder why it might be important? In celebration of this Sunday’s Vendor Appreciation Day at Hillsdale Farmers’ Market, we are going to look briefly at just a few of the benefits of spending your money in your own community.
In the United States in 2023, it is an undeniable that spending money is a political act. Your funds act as your voice, putting a word in for the world you want to see. When we pay for art, more art becomes possible. When we buy from a local producer, their business has a chance to grow. Buying soup from the grocery store supports a myriad of other businesses and ventures: the cannery, the trucking industry, the grocery store chain itself. Buying soup from Souper Natural supports a local small business, which in turn pays Portland employees and sources ingredients from Oregon farmers. When you spend money with a small business in your community, your money stays in that community.
When we look at our food systems, there are even more reasons to keep your kitchen stocked with local items. Many communities across the country are dependent on food grown and harvested outside their own region. When the current system of food transportation is disrupted (as in, for example, a global pandemic), those communities are at risk. In the pacific northwest, we are fortunate enough to be surrounded by fertile land for growing produce, catching fish, finding mushrooms, and raising cattle. The farmers, ranchers, foragers, and fisherfolk who tend this land are only able to do so when there is a market for their product. Choosing to buy bacon from Deck Family Farms means they have more capital to invest back into their pasture raised pork, as well as their chickens, cows, and their flourishing intern program educating the next generation of farmers. By spending money at the farmers’ market, you are making the choice to strengthen the pacific northwest’s unique and vital food system.
On a macro scale, these local businesses are doing more than just employing your neighbors, feeding your family, and investing in one another’s growth. Funding the efforts of small farms is one of the pathways available to us as we seek to fight climate change. Industrial farming practices lead to soil depletion, loss of biodiversity, and increased greenhouse gas emissions. When working on such a large scale, chemical pesticides and cattle antibiotics are liberally used, because it is hard to treat each problem individually, plant by plant, or bird by bird. Industrial farming also leads to significantly more carbon emissions, as their products are shipped all around the world.
Even when your local farmer is not certified organic, their farming practices are significantly better for the environment. The farmers at Hillsdale Farmers’ Market run smaller operations, which can be more easily managed. Many of our farmers are passionate about implementing regenerative agriculture techniques, such as rotating crops and planting beneficial native ground cover. Additionally, when you bring home tomatoes and peppers from Barn Frog Farms, those items only traveled 80 miles to reach you, coming on one truck directly from Halsey, Oregon. They were grown with sustainable practices which, in turn, support their land, the region’s food network, and the global climate.
This Sunday is our annual Vendor Appreciation Day at Hillsdale Farmers’ Market. We encourage you to take this opportunity to come out, participate in market activities, and most importantly: shop! Every single sale matters to the businesses you find at the farmers’ market. The effect your grocery budget has on the Portland economy is not inconsequential. Come use your voice to support your local community.