"Keeping Doors Open and Lights On" | Why Small Business Support Matters

I am keeping doors open; I do help keep lights on, because I know our independently owned and operated businesses are essential and critical to a thriving community. Choices are - and always have been - important to me, as I assume they are to many folks, and yet we have so many people willing to walk away from the icons of their towns and main streets, the heartbeat of the city they call home, in pursuit of online clicks and instant gratification of....doing nothing but waiting for a box to arrive. How did we get here!?

Moving Forward: November 8th

We made it - we got through this week of voting and non-stop election coverage - and social media posts that didn't always bring out the best in everyone. I specifically did not make posts of any kind this week about politics or voting or anything, because I know you saw plenty of that elsewhere.

Were We Actually "Better" Back Then?

If we pause to think back, maybe to childhood, perhaps.......our communities, towns and neighborhoods weren't built on monopolies and a handful of mega-sized corporations, were they? I don't remember the existence of such massive buildings we have today; I remember going to the family-owned hardware store with my dad, where he knew the owners, and they always talked forever while I roamed the aisles of the most fascinating store ever.

Building your community, or killing it?

Sorry, not sorry..... there is nothing like seeing a town, a once-thriving and beautiful community, which courted a big box retailer, bent over backwards to bring them there, and eagerly spent millions to ensure the terms dictated by a corporation would be met..... become decimated and vacant.

Celebrating National Farmers Market Week

Observed during the second full week of August each summer, is National Farmers Market Week. We're celebrating this milestone by sharing the love of fresh food, eating better, and knowing the people who grow and farm where you live! We have graphics and images showing support for our farm families, local growers, and markets across the country which provide Americans with a direct link to the people who feed the world.