Letter from Betsy Burton, Board Chair
Minds are changing about the importance of “local” as we recognize that community is not only central to our lives, but is also dependent on how we live those lives. Sure, we love the web of connection that community offers us, the unique stores run by people who live next door or down the street who reopen their pharmacies late at night to provide an emergency drug for a child with a high fever, contribute willingly to our daughters’ soccer team, help provide locally grown produce for a restaurant that values “local”.
But we’re also starting to see and understand the economic gains provided by locally owned and independent businesses. We’ve heard it so many times, it’s practically a mantra: “Every time you spend a dollar in a locally owned independent business, three times as much of that dollar is recirculated in the community as is the case when that same dollar is spent in a chain store.” It makes sense, too, once we realize that chains not only receive all their business support from out of state but send their profits out of state as well, that in the long run they’re draining money out of our communities while independent locally owned businesses are adding it back, over and over again. Simple logic.
That simple logic is the reason Local First Utah is growing by leaps and bounds — in just over two years we have more than 1500 business partners statewide and steadily increasing support from city, county, and state governments. As we gain strength in a growing number of communities from Ogden to Moab to St. George, it is time to thank the community of businesses that have partnered with us to spread the message of Local First (each one is listed in these pages) and to thank each and every one of the communities throughout the state that are embracing Local First Utah. Collectively, you are helping to make a difference in all of our lives.
Sincerely,
Betsy Burton
Local First Utah Board Chair
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