For my research project I am attempting to display the benefits of shopping at locally owned business and Farmers Markets opposed to shopping at local supermarkets. Now I know many readers may think that there is no distinction between shopping local versus shopping locally, but there is a big difference. In the article, "Shopping Local vs. Shopping Locally", the author, makes the distinction clearer while also presenting the benefits of shopping from the locally owned small stores. When you shop local, you are buying from stores in your community like your average supermarket chains such as Wal-Mart or WinCo. However, when you shop locally, you are buying from small locally owned businesses. When you buy from these small locally owned stores, forty-five percent of the revenue goes back to the local community compared to only fourteen percent going back to the community when buying from local supermarket chains. Though it may be difficult to find these smal businesses, if one is near you, shopping there will benefit the local community and economy.
Furthermore, many people overlook local Farmers Markets. The food sold at these markets are actually much better for you because they have more nutrients. These foods have more nutrients because they are grown close to where they are being sold. Sometimes these foods are picked the day they are sold. Foods sold in large supermarket chains tend to have less nutrients because they are not grown locally. Chemicals are used on these foods so they will be able to sustain traveling such long distances. Also food from these Farmers Markets are not expensive. In fact, some products are even cheaper at Farmers Markets than at supermarkets. Lastly, buying from these local Farmers Markets benefits the environment. By taking out the long transportation of products to supermarkets, the environment becomes less polluted.
Clearly, buying from small, locally owned businesses and Farmers Markets proves to beneficial on many levels. However, people continue to shop a these large supermarkets. Consumers need to be more aware of these benefits for change to be possible.
This is a really interesting research topic because I would have thought that shopping local and locally shopping were the same thing. I also didn't know that more money goes back to our community if we buy locally grown foods. This is just another good reason why we should shift away from supermarkets and toward places like Farmers Markets. Even if they may be hard to find, I still think it is worth it. Also, shopping locally increases the chance of the food being organic. It's probably all organic compared to supermarkets that are mainly genetically modified. It's obvious that we all shop at supermarkets, so it will be hard to encourage people to change their habits to be healthier.
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