Bring back the small business

We live in a small (not too remote) town in the Kootenays. Even though we are a minimum of one-hour from the next biggest town, big box stores and fast food joints have slowly crept in and pushed out the small shops. It has effected everyone from coffee shops to lumber supplies to farmers.

A very common misconception is that, where there is a grocery store, there is an opportunity for a farmer to sell their produce or meat. Quite the opposite, with the disappearance of the small grocer also comes the downfall of local agriculture. These box stores do not just offer the comfort of full shelves, they also promise to offer the same products in each of their stores Canada-wide. What that means for the producer is that in order to sell to these large companies you must be able to provide that "perfect" product to EACH of their stores. So instead of finding what they can locally, they ship produce all across the country to ensure same-ness. I can't even start to dive into the issues with meat production, but lets just say there are no carcasses hanging behind the deli counter and everything comes in nicely vacuum sealed bulk packages.

So why do we flock to these massive food black-holes? its convenient, heck I get it - I too shop at these stores, I cant get toilet paper anywhere else these days. if you're going for toilet paper, you might as well get milk...and bread, and meat oh and a few snacks, shampoo, toothpaste, and, and, and.... it's just too easy.

So what is the alternative?

Our town specifically has only a few independent food retailers. Do we need to boycott the big stores and put our whole pay-cheque into supporting these ma and pa shops? Although that would be ideal - it would not only be way too much pressure for those shops , but its also unrealistic. As with most change, small steps are best for long lasting change. Maybe once a month you buy your week's worth of meat from the Butcher Shop, perhaps you buy 2/4 loaves of bread from the bakery, join a CSA (weekly vegetable delivery), and slowly you find yourself enjoying the process of buying from your local family-owned shops. I'd be lying if I told you there wasn't a whimsical, "you've got mail" feeling to buying from folks that not only know your name, but ask you how your family is doing and "how that roast turned out last week".

We have leant on these small shops and thrown all the support we have at them. We lower our prices slightly to get our products in the door but also allow for them to make a profit and give their customers a good price. We have sold on consignment so that they are not taking on all of the burden of selling each product. Farmers and producers are getting creative, shop owners are doing everything they can to purchase locally. All they need is your patronage.