Amanda Kadell, Gresham, Grade 7
What me and my family buy locally is food and new clothes but mostly food. You should not waste your money on dumb stuff like new earrings, toys, a lot of jewelry, clothes and new shoes. That’s very dumb. Once you have the money, you should buy stuff you absolutely need. Where me and my family mostly go to is Fred Meyers.
Andi Simons, Portland, 8th Grade
When you buy things from a local Gresham store or market, you are doing a lot more than just getting a good deal on corn and tomatoes, you are also helping the environment by saving gas, helping the economy by keeping the stores in business, and helping the local farmers who grow the foods in our area. A couple of years ago, my dad was saying our neighborhood was going dow hill, but then he realized he was doing nothing to help our community. Now, we buy as much as we can locally. We switched to using local doctors, neighborhood coffee shops, produce markets and clothing stores instead of going to the large shopping malls.
You can help the environment by shopping locall. When you go to stores close to where you live, you save gas by not going all the way to downtown to buy your favorite t-shirt.
If you keep supporting the stores and businesses around Gresham, you won’t see a bunch of empty buildings sitting there waiting to be tagged, and who wants to see that around their area?
Buying your clothing and grocers locally is an all-around good thing to do. It helps the environment, businesses and it helps you.
Christine Jacobsen, Troutdale, 12th Grade
When I was a little girl, there was nothing I loved more than to spend a day shopping downtown Gresham. I loved looking through the windows at the bright, colorful displays. I loved to go into the stores, seeing what treasures each one had. As I’ve grown up, I learned how shopping locally is not only an enjoyable experience, but it’s really important for our local economy.
Shopping locally helps to keep money circulating in our community. For example, a local business owner is likely to purchase things for their stores from other local businesses and other local service providers. Local businesses are also the largest supplier of jobs nationally, and in today’s economy, we can’t afford to lose anymore jobs.
Not only does shopping locally keep money in the community, it’s a lot of fun. Going shopping at local stores is a great experience. At local stores, items are unique and more personalized.
Shopping locally is great for the economy and it’s a great experience. As a little girl, I loved the local shopping experience. Now, I love the shopping experience as well as the fact that, through shopping, I can make my community a better place.
