Keep it Local

Support Local Coachella Valley Economy by Keeping it Local

Shopping Local is more important than ever!  Strong businesses are critical to the growth and sustainability of the Coachella Valley Economy, especially during these trying times of COVID restrictions.  Businesses across the Nation and right here in the Valley are under a huge financial strain to just keep the doors open. Many won’t survive without the local community stepping up to help – Shop Local Coachella Valley Restaurants and Shops.

Shop Local Coachella Valley Restaurants and Shops, It Makes a Huge Difference in the Local Economy

To help quantify the difference, CivicEconomics, (a firm based in Texas that does data analysis), compared local spending of a chain restaurant to an independent restaurant.  On average, one in three dollars earned locally was  spent locally, while the local restaurant spent two in three dollars locally. Workers also made more money at the local restaurant than their chain competitor.  Local charities also receive dramatically more support from the local business than the one run from afar.

Local Money Flows to Help Keep the Community Alive

A number of researchers and organizations have taken a closer look at how money flows.  They found keeping money in town has a profound economic impact; the fate of communities depend on it.  The New Economics Foundation, (NEF) an independent economic think tank, compared when shoppers buy produce at the local chain Supermarket vs the local Farmers Market or Growers Direct. They found twice the amount of money stayed in the community when people bought locally.  “That means those purchases are twice as efficient in terms of keeping the local economy alive,” says author and NEF researcher David Boyle.   Boyle went on to say, many local economies are languishing not because too little cash comes in, but as a result of what happens to that money.

“Money is like blood.  It needs to keep moving around to keep the economy going,” When money is spent elsewhere—at big supermarkets, non-locally owned utilities and other services such as on-line retailers—”that blood flows out, like a wound.” By shopping at the corner store instead of the big box chain, consumers keep their communities from becoming “clone towns”, where Main Street now looks like every other Main Street with the same fast-food and retail chains.

If everyone in the Coachella Valley spent just $10 a day more with locally owned businesses or restaurants, our economy would have an estimated $150 million more circulating locally. That means Shop Local Coachella Valley Restaurants and Shops  more jobs and a healthier local economy for everyone to enjoy all year.

Local Restaurants and Employees Win

Shop Local Coachella Valley Restaurants and Shops; Instead of going to Starbucks for coffee, consider Koffi, Ernest Coffee or IW Coffee Roasters.  Instead of automatically going to a chain like Five Guy’s for a Burger, think about Burger’s & Beer,  or Grill a Burger.  Italian? Instead of Olive Garden, what about Mama Gina’s,  Castelli’s,  Norma’s Italian Kitchen or Stuft Pizza Bar & Grill.  Lunch, instead of Panera for a Sandwich, think The Real Italian Deli, or Bouchee Cafe and Deli , Francesco’s Cafe Dinner at Mitch’s on El Paseo, Lavender Bistro in Old Town,  It’s smart for our community and a simple way we can make the Coachella Valley economy stronger and more sustainable for our local residents, while remaining a vibrant destination for visitors.

Shop Local Coachella Valley Restaurants and Shops, Help the Local Economy Through Hardship

As local economies limp through the aftermath of COVID restrictions, many towns and cities are hurting. “Buy-local” campaigns help local economies withstand the shock to their economic system. Says Boyle: “For communities, this is a hopeful message because it’s not about how much money you’ve got, but how much you can keep circulating without letting it leak out.”