Norwalk House Cleaning

A few weeks ago I was running around Pleasantville when I saw a sign on door of Try & Buy, the neighborhood toy shop that said “Shop local.”

All around, friendly neighborhood businesses in all communities are facing enormous obstacles, if not shutting down. Everyone hates empty storefronts but it’s a fact until we start shopping local in Mount Kisco, Norwalk, Tarreytown and Chappaqua, empty storefronts will be the norm.

Here are 10 good reasons to shop locally that I found on a website for a business and community group called Sustainable Connections that clearly explains why shopping at local, independently-owned businesses is good:

1. Buy Local -- Support yourself: Several studies have shown that when you buy from an independent, locally owned business, rather than a nationally owned businesses, significantly more of your money is used to make purchases from other local businesses, service providers and farms -- continuing to strengthen the economic base of the community. (Click here to see summaries of a variety of economic impact studies; these include case studies showing that locally-owned businesses generate a premium in enhanced economic impact to the community and our tax base.)
2. Support community groups: Non-profit organizations receive an average 250% more support from smaller business owners than they do from large businesses.
3. Keep our community unique: Where we shop, where we eat and have fun -- all of it makes our community home. Our one-of-a-kind businesses are an integral part of the distinctive character of this place. Our tourism businesses also benefit. “When people go on vacation they generally seek out destinations that offer them the sense of being someplace, not just anyplace.” ~ Richard Moe, President, National Historic Preservation Trust.
4. Reduce environmental impact: Locally owned businesses can make more local purchases requiring less transportation and generally set up shop in town or city centers as opposed to developing on the fringe. This generally means contributing less to sprawl, congestion, habitat loss and pollution.
5. Create more good jobs: Small local businesses are the largest employer nationally and in our community, provide the most jobs to residents.
6. Get better service: Local businesses often hire people with a better understanding of the products they are selling and take more time to get to know customers.
7. Invest in community: Local businesses are owned by people who live in this community, are less likely to leave, and are more invested in the community’s future.
8. Put your taxes to good use: Local businesses in town centers require comparatively little infrastructure investment and make more efficient use of public services as compared to nationally owned stores entering the community.
9. Buy what you want, not what someone wants you to buy: A marketplace of tens of thousands of small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices over the long-term. A multitude of small businesses, each selecting products based not on a national sales plan but on their own interests and the needs of their local customers, guarantees a much broader range of product choices.
10. Encourage local prosperity: A growing body of economic research shows that in an increasingly homogenized world, entrepreneurs and skilled workers are more likely to invest and settle in communities that preserve their one-of-a-kind businesses and distinctive character.

It makes smart sense to me.

As someone who has been concerned about the impact of toxic cleaning chemicals for more than 10 years now, it would seem that eating foods grown free of pesticides would be an automatic choice. Not too long ago I would walk right by the organic fruit to the other bins filled with the brighter, redder apples. And you would have never caught me saying, “Local produce is so delicious!"

It took a visit to an apple farm upstate for my “eureka!” moment and now I’ve changed my shopping routine and will buy local produce whenever it is at all possible – both for the taste and my family’s health -- as well as to support local farmers in our area.

True, locally grown organic produce may be more expensive, and sometimes I have to go out of my way to find it, but I think it's truly worth going that extra yard.

Turns out there is plenty of produce grown on small, family-owned farms, many within 50 miles from us. I am a firm believer in shopping local and this is a great way to support the local farming community. Having these farms basically in my backyard is a fantastic resource I think should be nurtured and cultivated. Shopping at farmers’ markets and actually going to farms to pick out own fruits and veggies for the week are not only fun activities for my family but also educational opportunities that help my daughters better understand our world. While we live in a basically suburban area, they now understand that many of the delicious food we eat is grown just a stone’s throw away.

Buying organic produce has also triggered some excellent conversations with my girls about what organic is and the ugly truths about pesticides. While commercially grown produce may look very nice, that kind of beauty really is only skin deep and they’re not so good for us. Now that we understand about the artificially produced good looks, those foods are not alluring to them – or me – like they once were!

Here are links to lists of local farmers’ markets, farms and farmstands:

Westchester County Farmers’ Markets:
Bronxville, Dobbs Ferry, Hartsdale, Hastings, Larchmont,
Katonah/Lewisboro, Muscoot, New Rochelle, Ossining,
Peekskill, Pelham, Pleasantville, Rye, Yonkers, Tarrytown,
White Plains.
http://www.nyfarmersmarket.com/regionmetrowestchester.htm

Westchester County Farms and Farmstands:

Yorktown Heights, Croton Falls, Sleepy Hollow, Pocantico Hills, Granite Springs, Croton-on-Hudson, Hartsdale,

http://allaccesswestchester.com/farms-and-orchard.php

Putnam County Farmers’ Markets:

Brewster, Cold Spring

http://www.nyfarmersmarket.com/regionmetroputnam.htm

Putnam Valley

http://www.putnamvalleyresidents.com/FARMERS%20MARKET%202009.htm

Putnam County Farms and Farmstands:

Patterson, Carmel, Brewster, Cold Spring

http://www.visitputnam.org/activities/farmers.html

Rockland County Farmer’s Markets: