Choosing Community
I’ll admit that each election cycle leaves me feeling so many emotions. I feel excited about how many of the people around me feel invested in the democratic process. It’s our civic duty as Americans to participate in electing people to offices that affect our lives in so many overarching ways. But I also feel deflated when the issues that the people around me vote on are discarded the day after election day. I want everyone reading this to know something: You can make choices every single day that affect the things you feel are important. You don’t have to wait every four years to show you care about the economy, environment, and equality. If you have the privilege of a living wage, you can vote on this with your dollar every single day. Three times a day, in fact.
This week’s blog is my attempt at imploring you to keep it up. The spirit of community that’s been whipped up in you can endure well beyond this election cycle. It’s important not to let this moment pass without really considering the impact you can have with some very small adjustments.
You might be wondering what this has to go with gardening. My whole approach to Gold Feather Gardens focuses on sourcing locally. I support local nurseries, greenhouses and seed growers, as well as local carpenters and welders for all of my clients. It’s of utmost importance to me to ensure that every dollar spent on a garden directly impacts a business, person or family in Boise. The gardens I grow and tend directly impact Idaho families, and I am so grateful to be located in a place where that’s possible. It takes more effort, more patience, but it’s worth it at all levels.
Local Economy
Buying locally from small-scale farmers, purchasing holiday gifts from local artists and ordering holiday menu items from local restaurants is a perfect entry into the world of shopping locally. By avoiding Amazon or bigger retailers, your holiday shopping might trend toward “quality over quantity,” as well. I think consuming less is always worth the trade-off, and I think you will feel that, too.
When you buy from a local farmer or local grocer, your dollar remains in the local economy instead of being exported to a corporation outside our area. The farther a dollar gets from your wallet, the less money goes to the person who produced the thing you bought. It’s that simple. Distribution and retail costs can cripple small businesses, so cutting out the middle man as much as possible ensures that the people you purchase from can make a living.
The Environment
In Boise, we pride ourselves on loving the outdoors. That love, however, goes out the window for convenience sometimes. Buying locally means that whatever you’ve purchased doesn’t have as many miles to go to get to you, but it also saves on packaging and it gives you more control on what resources were used to create what you bought. When it comes to buying food locally, you’re also supporting farmers who believe in stewarding the land, building the soil and keeping our local ecosystems intact.
Boise has an incredible community of artists and makers, as well as growers and food producers. We’re lucky that we don’t even need to go outside our community to get everything we want or need.
Equality for All
Locally produced food and goods directly impacts the job market and wages that people are paid. If job creation, employment, living wages and equality in all forms is important to you, buying local makes the most logical sense. Buying mass produced goods means that giant corporations get your money, while the people who work for them bring home pennies on the dollar. Supporting businesses in Boise who are owned by individuals that employ other individuals and pay them a living wage is key to our growth as a city and society.
Action
The election season is over, but your impact on the community around you doesn’t have to be. The suggestions I’m making in this blog post are ones you can begin to implement right away. As you turn your attention to the holiday season, it’s the perfect time to support your local community. I’ve created a guide to shopping locally for holiday ingredients, meals, decor and even non-profits to support for our local food system.
You can download that guide here to start supporting local right away.