LANSING - Beginning next week, community residents are making an effort to purchase their goods from locally-owned businesses in and around the community. The "Buy Local" movement starts on Sunday and ends on Saturday, July 19th.
"As a small business owner myself, I can appreciate the growing struggle of our local store owners," State Representative Barb Byrum (D-Onondaga), the architect of the weeklong effort, said. "Local businesses account for the majority of employers in Michigan. We can all help preserve our local economic diversity by supporting the businesses that distinguish our communties and make them unique."
The "Buy Local" initiative corroborates with the state's BUY MICHIGAN FIRST plan that encourages Michigan businesses, including underrepresented vendor groups, to register with the State as vendors and bid on more than 1,200 contract opportunities valued at over $19 billion.
"Local business owners reinvest into the community and we can help our own communities by buying local," said Byrum. "We all have a role to play in getting Michigan's economy back on track. We can begin this process by buying our goods at our local shops. Buying local not only helps reinvest in the community, but also puts food on our neighbor's plate."