Local businesses also benefit the state’s economy because the profits go directly to Mainers. For example, Maine farmers are paid to supply Maine restaurants and groceries with fresh produce. The restaurants, in turn, sell the food to Maine customers. This exchange ensures a high quality product and encourages cooperation between local businesses.
It is also worth noting that most of Maine’s farmers practice sustainable methods which are better for the environment, better for livestock and better for us. Mega-retailers do not exactly have a reputation for being eco-friendly. In fact, despite whatever their commercials may lead us to believe, many of those mega-retailers are not even people-friendly.
But it is always a joy to talk to the farmers at the farmer’s market and to experience their enthusiasm for what they do. To them, it is not just a job; it is a way of life. They work so closely with the land, not against it, and the results are all the more delicious for it. Plus, I know exactly where my food comes from, and in many cases, the name of the person who grew it.
That connection is special. It has become rare in this age of industry to share even a moment of intimacy beyond the obligatory pleasantries. Many have become too accustomed to shiny screens and flashing lights to acknowledge human presence.
In modern America, it is easy to feel lost and alone, even among millions of other people. We are pressured to move fast, think fast, get what we need and get out. It is incredibly isolating to push around a cart in an enormous, fluorescent-lit concrete building without even so much as a “good day to you” from the cashier. It is like an Orwellian dystopia come to life.
That’s not so with most local establishments. I feel a sense of belonging when I go to the farmer’s market and the vendors know my name and what my favorite vegetables are. Or when I visit a favorite clothing boutique and the owner herself asks me about that skirt I bought a couple of weeks ago.
This used to be the norm, back when communities were communities in the true sense of the word. All of the essentials were created by, sold by and purchased by the people of the community.
Even with their advantages, national mega-retailers cannot replace the familiarity that local businesses offer. We owe it to ourselves and to future generations to maintain that sense of togetherness, for how can we move forward as a state if we cannot even rely on each other for the most basic needs?
Our farmers and other local entrepreneurs represent that ideal. If we do not continue to support them, we will lose so much of what makes us who we are. We are not “one size fits all” and we are certainly not “made in China” — we are Mainers who should not forget the traditions upon which our state was built.