Bill Bowick | Jan 08, 2020


Last year, we had our bathroom renovated. We saw an ad on TV, called the advertised company and signed them up. A friend dropped by while the drive-way was full of rubble.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“Getting the bathroom redone”, I replied.

“Guess you didn’t know I do bathrooms”, he said.

I didn’t know he did bathrooms but I knew he was a carpenter and that he did good work. I should have known; I just never thought to ask. So, I hurt both my friend and my community.

Shopping local is more than just buying groceries at Mike Dean’s, though he does bill himself as a local grocer. Shopping local is looking for a supplier in this community for whatever your needs might be. And there are lots of suppliers. For example, there are at least seventeen businesses boasting skills in building trades that do business in the north part of Frontenac County. These range from handy man services to licensed trades such as plumbing and electrical; from interior design to general contracting. There are five hair dressers in that same area and ten or more retail outlets (not counting the Beer Store and LCBO).

Are these suppliers perfect? Not by any stretch but we all play a role in the imperfections. A small-town grocer can’t possibly carry the same variety and freshness you would expect from a city Farm-Boy outlet, especially in winter when volumes are down anyway. But we would not want to see that store disappear and the higher that small grocer’s volume is, the better equipped he’ll be to meet your needs. That volume comes from our support. The same is true of skills we might hire. If all the work goes to people from Northbrook or Kingston, then those tradesmen get all the experience and all the opportunities to learn and improve.

Of course, buying on price alone does not help. Volume in larger centres often allows a retailer to sell something for less but going to get it is not free. With a reasonably efficient car (say 30 miles to the gallon) a round trip from Sharbot Lake to Perth will cost nearly $10.00; Arden to Northbrook will be about $7.50 and Sharbot Lake to Kingston will be $17.00. These costs have to be added to the purchase price. And shopping local has the added advantage of dealing with a person you know rather than a stranger in another town. I once saw a sign in a country store that said “If you want nice clean, fresh oats, you’ll have to pay a fair price. If you’ll settle for oats that have been through the horse, that comes a little cheaper.” It’s your choice.

So, my New Years resolution is not altruistic; it is selfish. In the long run, I think I get a better deal shopping local first. I don’t really need strawberries in February and all my other needs are met. As someone pointed out to me recently, “If Bob’s Petrocan doesn’t have it, you probably don’t really need it.”

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