Support for the local business economy needs to start at home.
Getting residents to shop in their own community is the first step towards ensuring success in a competitive global market and Sackville is well on its way to making that happen, says Coun. Margaret Tusz-King.
“In Sackville, we have proof that there is a large group of people who are quite keen to buy locally,” Tusz-King told a group of local businesspeople who came out for last week’s Greater Sackville Chamber of Commerce annual meeting.
Tusz-King, who served as the guest speaker during the chamber’s AGM, said about 250 families took part in a survey last year as part of the community’s sustainability plan, with the results showing there is a strong commitment towards a healthy environment.
She said the statistics revealed that 96 per cent of those surveyed buy ‘some’ groceries in Sackville and 58 per cent go to the weekly farmers’ market.
“They want to find what they need locally, rather than having to drive in their cars to get it,” she said. “They want to buy local . . . I think there’s a real desire for local people to support the local economy.”
But making that happen is the real challenge, she said.
“How can we encourage our local citizens to make more of their purchases in our local community, instead of taking their valuable spending dollars away from here?” she asked.
First off, she said, businesses need to be offering products and services that meet the needs of the local community.
Second, town hall needs to ensure it is offering proper support and information to those businesses to keep them operating successfully.
And, of course, it’s imperative to convey to everyone how important shopping local is to the future of the community, said Tusz-King.
“It is an important way that we can stabilize our community against the variabilities and changes that occur, beyond our control, in the global marketplace,” she said.
“When we don’t buy locally, the resources of our local communities just trickle away and we need to stop these leaks.”
Local support for businesses also helps with efforts to protect the environment and limit global warming.
“When we shop locally, we are driving less, so we are putting less pollution and fewer greenhouse gases into the air that we breathe,” said Tusz-King, who ran as Tantramar’s Green Party candidate in the last provincial election.
She pointed out that goods manufactured locally will also have a smaller ecological footprint than those that are manufactured elsewhere and shipped in.
Tusz-King said Sackville will benefit greatly if local dollars are spent within the community, particularly in a time when the world is undergoing intense economic changes.
“I believe that the people of Sackville are poised and ready, to realize that it is our abilities to be good neighbours to each other, to support each others’ businesses, and to develop the culture of generosity that our small communities are founded upon, that will carry us steadily through the challenges of the future.”
The GSCC elected a new executive during its AGM and also welcomed several new board members for the upcoming year. Sandy Harper will once again serve as president, Scott Embree will be secretary, and Louse MacKinnon will serve as treasurer.
