#Buy Local

[reasonsforhope]

"In Saskatchewan, Canada’s first free grocery store is set to open as a flourishing food bank continues to look for ways to support the community.

Located at 1881 Broad St. in Regina, the Food Hub will be stocked like any old grocery store, and unlike similar projects that operate out of churches or community centers, it will feature a produce section, floor-to-ceiling display fridges, and be open all week.

The Regina Food Bank believes that allowing people who rely on the food bank for food security to fill out a cart just like a normal grocery store gives back agency, and may actually help feed more people by reducing waste.

“None of us fit in a box, but that’s what we give our clients today,” Regina Food Bank vice-president David Froh told CBC News. “When you give choices, you give not just dignity, but actually, we figure we can feed about 25% more people.”

One client explained that getting handed a crate of canned/boxed goods put together in a hurry based on what was in stock rarely provides a selection that accounts for things like dietary restrictions, allergies, proper nutrition, or even just synergistic flavors between the foods.

“Normally I barter with my neighbors and we swap back and forth, so it kind of works out that way. But a lot of people don’t do that,” said food bank client Jon White. “So there’s a lot of stuff that just goes to waste.”

The Regina Food Bank doesn’t just support the unhoused or others in dire need of aid; 18% of its clients work full-time, and 2,000 students receive school snacks and meals through their work. Part of their overall objectives with the Food Hub is to reduce societal stigma against using a food bank.

Food banks do not receive government subsidies, so Froh and his colleagues had to look for private donations to raise the CAD$3.7 million they needed to get the Food Hub off the ground. Some of this came from piggy bank-sized gifts, but they also received a CAD$1 million donation from The Mosaic Company.

Much of the stock is produced, grown, or processed in Saskatchewan—part of Regina Food Bank’s goal to improve the sustainability and nutritional quality of the food their clients rely on."

-via Good News Network, June 4, 2024

[ireton]

Warning at Walmart

Grow your own

Buy local

No Farms - No Food

No Farmers - No Food - No Future

Food Security

Advocate for Agriculture

Support Local Farmers

Do Some Research

Save Our Farmland

[ablogofcourage]

[peekaboopaulmatthews]

beanie's makes incredible coffee by the way. don't waste your money across the street at starbucks.

[tacky-and-wacky]

Some interesting 'bumper stickers' from https://www.internetbumperstickers.com/

[natureisthegreatestartist]

[the-amazing-boop]

Friendly reminder to check who you're buying from if you must participate in the economy.

Major corporations have thrown in their lot and no doubt have major stakes in the Palestinian, Congolese, and Sudanese genocides, as well as many others.

Bdnaash is a great site to do a quick check, but it's not perfect. Many brands like Nabisco (Oreos, Chips Ahoy, etc) are owned by larger conglomerates like Kraft, which are directly in support of Israel. And it's easy not to buy because most of this shit (especially American brands) is poison now anyway.

Check who owns what. If it's electronic, try to avoid it altogether unless your current device absolutely needs to be replaced. Avoid buying major brands supporting the genocide. And if you must buy, go for local or small businesses you trust.

Good luck and stay vigilant.

[my-patron-saint-is-jimmy]

There are a lot of companies and people to boycott because of their support for Israel. That list gets even longer when you factor in the companies that are exploiting and oppressing the Congolese people. When I first started boycotting for Palestine, I felt it because I very rarely buy myself extras and I couldn't have a rare treat anymore.

But here's the thing.

Buy local.

You don't need to go to Starbucks or Tim Hortons or McDonald's for a coffee - there is generally always a locally owned cafe for that. If you're hungry, go to the local restaurant or food truck. If you're struggling because you can't go to McDonald's in the morning for your breakfast before work, leave a bit earlier and hit a cafe or do meal prep to make your life easier. Fuck, buying a second hand coffee maker from a local thrift store can save you time and money and most of them have a timer you can set so it'll be ready for when you wake up.

There are businesses that are really hard to avoid (like Walmart, especially for us rural folks), but there are a lot of small lifestyle changes you can make to boycott shitty corps without constantly denying yourself the things that make life worth living in this post-capitalist hellscape. Buying local is better than buying from large companies anyways and with the COVID and current economic crisis combo, most small businesses are still hurting for revenue.

Buying second hand is also a great way to avoid supporting Israel or giving a market to the exploitation in Congo. Using things until their actually fucked beyond repair is a good way too. Learn how to sew, make things from scratch, basic repairs and maintenance on important items... Finding or building a community of like-minded people is so important too because maybe you don't have the expertise or equipment to fix your fridge, but you know a guy who'll trade you fridge repairs for repairs and reinforcements on his kids' winter gear. With that trade, you no longer need a new fridge and they no longer need new winter coats or snowpants.

Especially in North America, we are very consumerist, which I think relates back to when the colonizers and immigrants first came over to find a land of such abundance when they were used to living in relative scarcity. We need to shake our consumerism for the sake of not just the exploited and occupied, but also for the environment. Corps should have never gotten so big as they have, and we can take away their ability to make massive decisions (such as lobbying govts for changes in businesses' favour and helping fund genocide) by not giving them so much power in our individual lives and funding them. By weaponizing ourselves with knowledge, community, and the desire to reject extreme consumerism, corps will need to change their business models and product catalogs to reflect our spending habits and they'll have less money to fuck us over with in the end.

[bonelesssboiz]

save me farmers market… farmers market save me… farmers market with local honey….. save me

[wherelibertydwells]

[ireton]

[woodstoveguysblog]

Beautiful 24" Wildfire Elm🥰🥰

[musiqjukebox]

Saturdays are for shopping in local markets for new flowers 💐

[thesocklesswonder]

Alright fools, as it's almost Mother's Day, for those who celebrate, here's a PSA from a guy I know who's a florist.

Do not use 1 800 Flowers, AvasFlowers, bloomnet, Teleflora, FTD, any of these. ANY FLORAL ORDERING WEBSITE. Even something small like Ruth's Roses.

They are all scams. They charge you $20 for using their site, but they are just a front. They send it to a local florist and then give them around 30% less than what you paid for the arrangement. The website pockets delivery fees, site fees, your cookies and personal information, and a good chunk of what you think you're paying for flowers.

Please, just call a local florist, or one local to the area you're trying to get the arrangement delivered to. It may seem more expensive but that is just because you're actually paying for what you want, not substituted flowers and scammer fees.

Please. Please stop using these websites. They scam everyone -- including the florists -- every chance they get. They are just html fronts. Call a florist.

My florist friend had funeral sprays ordered where someone paid $210 and they only got $130 to work with at their shop.

[ikebanaka]

It’s hard to not spend any money at all for a full week, so if you find yourself in need (and that is need, not want) of something during this week’s strike for Palestine, try to borrow or barter for it from a friend if it’s an item, and for food avoid chains and large corporations.

Eat at your local taqueria. Find your local knick knack shop that sells stuff from local creators and artists. Look up what stores near you pride themselves on sourcing produce locally. Find out if there’s a farmer’s market nearby, and if you can hold out until then. Hell, even if you can’t commit to any of that this week, plan to commit to it next week, and the week after that. Find ways to live without corporations now, so when the next strike comes (and there will be more, the world is not that kind right now) you already know what to do.

As a bonus, the more you shop and eat locally, and the further that knowledge is spread, the less of a grip corporations have on the world around you. Look to a future where the world isn’t ruled by capitalist greed. Engage with your local community and reject the isolation capitalism uses to prey on you.

[jenbunny-star]

Buy local. 💟