6 Reasons to Shop Local in 2021

I had fully intended to share this post at the beginning of the year last month, but with the recent renovation project, this sat on the backburner. It’s now more important than ever to continue to shop local. While the pandemic hit the cities hard in 2020, the ripple effect will likely hit rural communities in the next couple of years, similar to the 2008 housing crisis.

Businesses are adapting and changing due to the economic impact of the pandemic, including the corporate chains. Amazon has recently added pharmacy services to its menu, adding to the ongoing challenges of independent pharmacies trying to compete with corporate chains and mail-in pharmacies. As we navigate a new year, let this be a reminder to support local. Here are six reasons to shop local in 2021(plus a bonus added by Mike Posson, Norton County Economic Development Executive Director).

1. Fulfilled Community Needs During a Pandemic

Small businesses like grocery stores, general stores, pharmacies, and hardware stores kept our communities going and provided basic necessities for our immediate area during the last year. While each community is different, something that many small communities noticed was less panic buying outages than our more urban counterparts. Not that the shelves in the toilet paper aisle were never bare, but it seemed that often the small communities could meet the needs of the locals when it came to basic necessities. Many of these small businesses kept their doors opened and their employees working through a time when the economy was uncertain. These small businesses provided a lifeline during the pandemic that large chain stores in cities just can’t provide for the rural parts of the state, especially during a pandemic.

Kowpoke Supply

Kowpoke Supply, a family-owned and operated hardware supply and lumber store has seen an uptick in business over the last year as people focused on fixing up their homes and businesses and tackled their deferred maintenance projects during the shutdown.
Kowpoke Supply Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/kowpokesupply

2. Northwest Kansas Jobs Come From Local Businesses

Small local businesses are the largest employers nationally. According to the SBA Office of Advocacy, small businesses represent anywhere from 60% to 90% of the total labor force jobs depending on the county in Northwest Kansas (In Norton, we have higher government employee numbers due to the correctional facility). In addition, local businesses provide jobs to people of various backgrounds, from students to residents who may be ready for a career change. Given the current economic climate, it never hurts to support our local rural business leaders in ensuring a more diversified job pool.

New Age Industrial

New Age Industrial is one of Norton County’s largest manufacturing employers. New Age produces aluminum products for various industries across the US. During the pandemic, New Age developed aluminum hand sanitizer stands for businesses, schools, and municipalities. Pictured above is an upgraded “touchless” stand using a foot-activated lever to dispense hand sanitizer.

Check out the Hand Sanitizer Stations and also the new Grab-and-Go Stations for restaurants…

New Age Website
https://www.newageindustrial.com/

3. Gives a Community Character

Every rural community has the same mix of chain fast food, discount stores, and farm supply/implement stores, but it’s the character beyond this that makes a community a destination. One-of-a-kind products and experiences produced by local makers and businesses are what sets our rural communities apart from others. By supporting such businesses, you ensure that the character and culture of the community is preserved which can attract others — either in valuable tourist dollars or to move and settle into the community.

Destination Kitchen and Stitch Up A Storm

Destination Kitchen, a restaurant and kitchen/home decor store, serves brick-oven fired pizza, varieties of soups and sandwiches, along with pastries and delicious desserts. Attached to Destination Kitchen and accessible through an interior hallway, is Stitch Up A Storm, a quilt shop loaded with fabrics to choose from.

Destination Kitchen on FB
https://www.facebook.com/Destination-Kitchen-236938604606

Stitch Up A Storm on FB
https://www.facebook.com/Stitch-Up-A-Storm-222167207799520/

4. Better Customer Service

Any business that cares about its customers is going to respond to its customers’ concerns, but none more so than a local maker or owner of a local business. Small business owners are connected to not only each employee in-store, but also to their customers. Local business owners value personal touch and will often times go above and beyond to make things right if there is a problem or dissatisfaction. Because a local business owner will see you in-person far more often they will be much more aware of how consumers feel since they “vote with their wallet.” On top of the personal touch, local businesses have a tendency to hire people with more specific product expertise or they will spend quite a bit of time training and educating new hires on their products. This expertise is shared with you as a customer and over time the employee will remember your values and meet your needs as the relationship builds.

Moffet Drug

Moffet Drug a local independent pharmacy in Norton provides curbside pickup and delivery using extra precautions to protect their most vulnerable clients during the current pandemic. Delivery services are free to the community and not limited to prescriptions, gifts from the store can also be delivered, making holiday and birthday shopping a breeze. Additionally, they are providing COVID-19 vaccine services to healthcare providers and the local community.

Follow Moffet Drug on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Moffet-Drug-112715942142962

5. Unique Offerings

Unlike big-box chains, the inventory of products you can find at local businesses is often unique to your community, like honey harvested from white clover fields in your area. It’s these one-of-a-kind offerings that are created and hand-crafted with care that are of premium quality. Also, a local maker’s freedom of creativity will often lead to unique variations of familiar products or entirely new ideas that you may not have seen elsewhere.

Karl the Honey Man, LLC

Honey from our favorite local beekeeper and mentor, Karl Kohfeld. Karl recently rebranded and started bottling his honey in a commercial kitchen at a newly opened venue called The Loft in downtown Norton. His rebranding includes a watercolor picture created by a local artist, his daughter Hanna Kohfeld. (She used a picture from my local beekeeping portfolio.) Now that Karl bottles in a commercial kitchen, he is now able to sell at our local grocery store as well as direct to consumers. It doesn’t get much more local than that.

Score local honey
https://www.facebook.com/KarlTheHoneyMan

also at Jamboree Foods
https://www.facebook.com/Jamboree-Foods-Norton-264559790901873

Check out Hanna Kohfeld’s Art
https://www.redbubble.com/people/hannakohfeld/shop

6. Shopping Local Shows You Care

Supporting local comes down to caring about your community. Not only do you benefit from the rewards listed above, but you ensure that your neighbors do as well. Your buying habits can support your local economy, your local entrepreneurs, crafters, and the community as a whole. Supporting small business makes you a part of something intricately woven, that is unique and special to the place you call home.

Midwest Mill

Midwest Mill is a locally owned online Etsy t-shirt shop. Hannah Bolt, the owner, runs this store out of her home and also is a local childcare provider. Hannah designs many school sports team t-shirts in the region.

Midwest Mill Etsy Store
https://www.etsy.com/people/MidwestMill

*Bonus 7. Giving Back

From one of our blog readers…local businesses give back to the community through charities, non-profits, foundations, and youth groups with financial and volunteer support.

What do you think? What else could we add?

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Psst…Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and you can shop at a number of the businesses listed above to find a gift for your loved one or you can also check out our unique selection of gifts online as well.
**Local delivery on Tuesdays or Thursdays, or curbside pickup available.

Hales Homestead Online Boutique