Published December 23, 2020

Support Local Businesses

If you’re going to spend money this season, try to invest in your community

While it’s tempting to get two day shipping from Amazon, ordering custom or handmade gifts through Etsy, Instagram, or direct websites, is a great way to support small, local businesses.

For foodies, this could mean:

• Ordering branded swag and other products from your favorite restaurants and influencers

• Catering dinner from a local restaurant, if you don’t feel like cooking

• Buying gift cards from local businesses for holiday gifts

How to support your community while experiencing financial strain

If finances are tight this season, there are still non-monetary ways to support local businesses, especially the food-related businesses in your area. Some ideas include:

• Follow and share posts from social media pages

  • Tag your friends and leave comments on posts/products you love. This helps the business gain visibility organically and reach new audiences.

• Leave constructive reviews about your experience for future consumers

  • Social proof is a credibility boost for small businesses, so the more honest feedback about a product, service, or experience, the better.

• Sign up for newsletters and reply to emails that you find valuable (so businesses can continue to grow and provide value for you)

Donate to Your Local Food Pantry

Increased need due to COVID-19

New research from The Washington Post, reported in Food and Wine Magazine, found that “~54 million Americans will struggle with hunger this year, up 45% from last year.” This includes “26 million adults reporting that they did not have enough food to eat as of mid-November.”

To survive, there’s been an increase in shoplifting food items, and necessities for babies and children, explained in The Washington Post’s report.

Donating to your local food pantry is one way to support your community this holiday season. With more Americans struggling financially this year, food banks need more funding and donations to provide resources to those in need.

Feeding America, who partners with over 200 food banks, report a 60% increase in need across the country, citing 4 in 10 people needing access to meals between March and June of this year.

How You Can Help

Donate to your local food pantry. Many local/church-based food pantries have already implemented safe social distancing guidelines so that you can easily research and donate the items that they need.

Within some communities, food pantries are even accepting dairy and proteins, with specific instructions for how to donate these items.

You can also donate monetary gifts to larger organizations like Feeding America, No Kid Hungry, and state-level organizations, that partner with local food pantries to distribute resources.

Are you struggling this season?

Check your local town website to find access to community food pantries and church resources that can provide support during the holidays.

There are also a number of websites, even those provided by your local government as it relates to the Coronavirus, that compile locations for resources and food pantries.

Volunteer Your Time

In a non-pandemic world, the holiday season evokes a time for volunteering within the community. Town’s host toy and food drives, holiday gatherings and celebrations, and soup kitchens serve holiday meals. The holiday events draw the need from the community for volunteers to coordinate, donate, and work to make these events happen.

While most holiday events this year are cancelled, there are always local organizations looking for volunteers to donate their expert experience.

Whether you’re skilled with excel spreadsheets, can build a marketing campaign, or draw a logo — there are plenty of local organizations looking for support. At this time, many opportunities can be done digitally, as we’ve seen through using Zoom and Skype.

VolunteerMatch is a great website that allows you to filter volunteering opportunities based on your location and interests. They’ve even updated their website to include COVID-19 specific volunteer opportunities and resources, and a dedicated virtual opportunities tab.

Check on Your Neighbors

As we’ve seen from the above data, neighbors within our individual community may be struggling financially to support themselves.

There are many ways to check on your neighbors while maintaining social distance. My personal neighborhood has known each other for three and four generations. They’re like an extended family, and ensuring they have what they need to stay safe and healthy is one way to support the community.

Here are some ideas how you can support your local neighborhood:

• If you’re going to the store, as if any of your neighbors need any items picked up, saving them a trip

• If you can afford to, surprise a neighbor with takeout. Order a pizza or other food item and have it delivered, and already paid for, so they don’t have to worry about dinner or coming into contact with others.

• As mentioned with how to support local businesses, gift neighbors a gift card so that they can cover financial expenses or buy items that they need during this season.

How Do You Support Your Community?

Do you have additional ideas and resources to share? Leave a comment below with your thoughts!