A Little Local Flavor.........One philosophy I subscribe to in life, for many reasons, is buying local. It is not only more environmentally friendly, as so much gas and diesel fuel is used shipping food and other products in from the outside....but it supports small businesses and farmers and puts money back into the community. We buy our eggs, meat, and grains from a local mennonite grocery that carries these products from local farmers who don't use hormones and whos animals are free-range....not raised on a factory farm. We also try to purchase most of our fruits and vegetables from our farmer's markets and roadside stands during the summer months. Living in a rural, farming community, we have an abundance of resources for fresh, whole foods.
We have a little mom and pop toy store that carries high-quality, albeit a little more expensive, toys that engage the imagination and don't require batteries. I always go there instead of Wal-mart when I need to buy a gift for a child.
And one of my favorite specialty shops is a converted train depot that sells handicrafts and food that is all made by local artisans and craftsmen. It is a treat indeed to look around this shop......from gourmet coffees to handmade rugs to handblown glass. This is also a place I frequent when I need a gift for someone. I like to get gifts that are meaningful...so it's fun to be able to send a gift and let the person know it was handmade by a local artisan.....
Two good websites about buying local are Sustainable Table
and Local Harvest . These two are mainly about buying your food locally. But, if you look around, usually there are a lot more products that are made locally and are available to purchase. Yes, sometimes it is a little more expensive than going to a big box store, but I think the service done to the environment and your community outweighs the extra expense.
I'll probably feature all these "favorite" stores of mine at different intervals. The photos on this post are all from the Depot gift shop that I mentioned.
Anybody up for a little shopping? :)
20 comments:
Woo hoo! I'm a big fan of the "buy local" philosophy too - it's a big deal around here. It just makes more sense to buy from a neighbor when you can than from some big corporation that doesn't care about your neighborhood at all & is only looking for a profit. My favorite farmstand is finally open, as is the farmer's market ... I'm so excited!
Man!!! I wish we had more stores like that around here! Berea may,but London not so much. Loved the pictures!
I love the woven goods. I'm with Tina, there is nothing good here. )0;
Count me in on the local shopping. I love to go to small towns and see the local stores. I buy all of my photo equipment at a locally owned store.
You have done a nice job of capturing the local stores. Makes me want to take a road trip again.
Take care.
What a good reminder bmm! I can't wait for farmer's market season!
Looks like my kind of town. Certainly my kind of stores - the kinds of places where the people are as much a draw as the stuff in the stores!
Tom
I love that second shot! Looks like an interesting place.
Let's go...I would love to visit all of these stores. You live in a delightful area.
I am always up for shopping! :) Thanks for taking us on a tour....
We have several good local options here. One is a bakery that just expanded and may be run by Mennonite (by the looks of their dress). Also we have a market run by a homeschooling family. Between those and the Harvest Moon, all sell unadulterated and local products.
Yesterday I went into Green's Garage. It's a stand that no one mans, completely on the honor system, and it's stocked with everything from meat to honey and flats and seeds!
Those are some lovely little shops. I'd love to buy local . . . if there were any shops.
colleen- you guys have it good in floyd...i love it there! that's amazing that a place like green's garage can do that in today's world....that says a lot for the people in your community!
Enjoy your Friday! :)
Yay for buying local! I second Dani's remark!
I really love all of my little local shops in Newport. I'm a little concerned for our wonderful little hardware stores now that there is a Lowes in town. Lowes will never carry real crockery milk churns, hickory king seed corn or mountain cress seeds.
You can buy local even if you live in the city. My Atlanta friends belong to a co-op that they give so much money to and every month they get boxes of produce from small farms within 50 miles of ATL.
rosie- cool that you have local haunts, too. i've been to newport, but it was a long time ago and i don't remember much about it except stopping at a BBQ restaurant that my dad likes.
part of the reason our area has been able to maintain these smaller stores is because we don't have lowe's or wal-mart. i would have to drive over half an hour to get to one..... and i hope that doesn't change!
I buy fresh fruits and veggies from our local farmers just down the street from us, even though I grow some veggies myself :-). To many big corps are just running the mom & pops right outta town. It's soo sad too. I love the feeling you get when you go in one of these small run stores. The folks are friendly. Everything just feels comfortable:-). Unlike the big stores. But I do shop at the big stores too, so shame on me huh? *giggles*.
Have a great weekend!
This is a great post. Our cantine at work just started a "eat local"-week with lots of meals made of vegetable that fit the season and are grown by local farmers.
I guess most of the time we do not even think about if its the season for a certain ingredience or not.
Thanks for coming over to my blog, I enjoyed reading yours a lot,
Helen
Count me in! I think it's wonderful that in this age of rampant Wal-Mart-ness, there are those among us who still live with their hearts and who still cherish the values on which the world used to run.
I've added you to my blogroll, BTW. Your blog is a treasure that I never want to lose track of.
that's a very thoughtful way of life .......and i commend u for it . we come from a country (India) where mom and pop store are the norm but are slowly being hit where it hurts the most by the bigger commercial establishments.....and if everyone thought like u did , it wud have been a very different situation....
and thank u so much for keeping tabs on moi....:)we went through a rough patch this week.. and i was completely shaken ..........am feeling much better now and so am back here where i belong :)please stay safe .....:)
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