Bob Condor
March 2004 | From the Editor
Buy Local, Build Community
BY BOB CONDOR
The afternoon represented one of those midwinter gifts that is always welcome. Sunny, about 55 degrees. A perfect day for a walk.
This particular walk was a “March and Buy-In” that started at Catfish Corner restaurant (try the fried catfish platter with all of the down-home sides) in Central Seattle. The corner is the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Cherry Street E.
About 35 marchers were gathered as part of a Buy Local Coalition that will be staging events throughout 2004. The idea is to show support for the local businesses, which in turn keeps dollars in the community because the business owners and their employees spend the money right back again in the neighborhood.
More than one marcher talked about “voting with our wallets” and “making a difference in our community by where we shop.”
A couple of men began making “Buy Local” signs with “signposts bought local in the neighborhood.” Soon, three others were helping to finish the signs. When everyone had a sign and a button, the walk began.
Local residents peeked out of their windows. Passing motorists honked their support, seemingly most impressed with a handmade sign expressing a succinct “Don’t export our neighborhood” message. Offshore manufacturing, once strictly a debate point for economists, was discussed in some detail during the walk.
Some merchants stepped out for some conversation. At Earl’s, clearly a popular and, educated guess here, legendary haircut shop, the whole march paused a few minutes for lots of smiles and a number of introductions
The group of activists was a mix of people, young, older, black, white guys from outside city limits. Organizations represented included the Black Dollar Day Task Force, Africans Unite!, Community Alliance for Global Justice, Co-op Freemont, EcoPraxis, Neighbornets, Interra and Washington CASH. Check out www. buylocalcoalition.org.
Everybody had a common goal: Call attention to the growing number of neighborhoods with then-you-saw-them, now-you-don’t local businesses. No one at the march was aiming to eliminate all chain stores or franchises, just to make sure local businesses didn’t get shoved out.
The march finished at Madison Market, an example of a strong local business. Its co-op membership has been growing steadily in the past three to five years, holding up its end of the Puget Sound area’s impressive rich history of co-ops (more about that in a future issue of Evergreen Monthly). There was coffee and chai tea in Madison Market’s café. Marchers shook hands, exchanged business cards or phone numbers and piled into pool cars to get everyone back to Catfish Corner.
It was a good day. For more than just the clear skies and mild temperatures.
I am thrilled to announce our newest section in the magazine, called Evergreen Health. It will strive to be your authoritative source on all things integrative medicine (remember, we don’t plan to be know-it-alls on any subject we cover). The opening article about the potential dark side of the Atkins diet is authored by Drs. Mark Hyman and Mark Liponis, co-medical directors of the cutting-edge Canyon Ranch spa resort and bestselling authors themselves (“Ultraprevention”). In the spirit of how this section will operate, the doctors don’t simply critique. They provide their positive solutions to making lifelong changes in how we eat—while still enjoying the food and social connections that come with our meals. Other regular features in the section: The “Supplement Shelf” by Dr. Tod Cooperman of www.ConsumerLab.com and the “Natural Athlete” column, which will encourage the athlete in all of us (whether you played a single moment of organized sports or not). Evergreen Health will minister to wellness of the body, mind and spirit every month. There’s no other section like in the Puget Sound.
MAIL CALL!
We want to hear from you. Tell us what you think about our new publication, what you like, don’t like, what coverage you want to read.
Send your letters to Evergreen Letters, P.O. Box 51186, Seattle, WA 98115. Email: [click to e-mail]. Letters should include the writer’s name, address and phone number.
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