What’s Sustainability?
February, 2010
by Jamie Clark
The main goal of the Buy Local – Buy Rogue campaign is to create a more sustainable local economy. Some of you might be wondering, just what does sustainability mean? The word “sustainable” has become a buzz word in today’s society and its meaning can often seem vague. At Thrive and the Buy Local—Buy Rogue campaign, the meaning of the word sustainable is more than a vague idea, it is the guiding principle at the heart of all our work.
For us, a sustainable economy is one that fosters social equity, a healthy environment and long-term prosperity. It supports a triple bottom line of people, planet and profit. Since the economy is a hot topic on people’s minds these days, this month we’ll focus on what it means to promote economic sustainability.
In financial terms, a sustainable local economy is one that is self-reliant, able to meet the diverse needs of its citizens today and in the future. For the past half-century, cheap oil and economies of scale have worked together to make us too dependent on the global economy to meet our basic needs for food, clothing, housing and finance. With the recent financial crisis and the increasing cost of transportation, many are now recognizing the need to shift more control and capital to the local economy.
Working toward more local self-reliance creates opportunities for new businesses to produce the items we used to import. In the past three years, we have seen this happening with local food production as consumers look for safe, delicious food to nourish their families. New farmers are cropping up to meet this new demand. At least a dozen new farmers now offer their goods at our local farmers markets and many are diversifying their offerings into dairy, eggs and meat. In addition to the Rogue Creamery, we now have three additional micro-creameries making cheese in the Rogue Valley: Siskiyou Crest Goat Dairy, Pholia Farm and most recently Mama Terra Micro Creamery.
Through our annual Food Connection Conference, Thrive helps to connect farmers, ranchers and specialty food producers with food buyers like chefs and grocery stores. Through this program, Tark’s Market in Talent was able to connect with Barking Moon Farm and Fry Family Farm to offer salad mix to their customers.
Some of Thrive’s other programs also promote local sourcing. Our online local business directory at www.BuyLocalRogue.org helps you find locally-owned retail stores, services, restaurants and financial institutions. More businesses are joining every week so check back often.
The annual Rogue Flavor local food guide helps 12,000 families find locally grown produce, farm share programs and community gardens. Each September, Thrive hosts Eat Local Week, a celebration of the Rogue Valley’s abundance of fresh, local food. This past year, Gary West Meats hosted seven local ranchers for a barbeque featuring organic and grass finished beef. As a result, you can now buy local beef year-round at their Jacksonville store. These small steps, taken as a whole, are moving the Rogue Valley into a position to produce more of our food closer to home.
A sustainable local economy is also a diverse economy. An economy composed of many small, locally owned businesses is more stable and often more prosperous over the long-term than one dependent on a handful of absentee-owned companies. Such an economy is better insulated from the ups and downs of the global economy and the whims of distant boardrooms. Local ownership ensures that businesses are firmly rooted in the community. They are unlikely to move and will do their best to weather economic hard times. Because there are so many of them, the failure of any one will have only a minor impact on the local economy.
You can help us support economic diversity and the financial resilience of our Rogue Valley economy by remembering the Buy Local—Buy Rogue message. Whether you are deciding where to shop or eat or bank, vote with your dollars and think local first!
Jamie Clark is the Business Outreach Coordinator for Thrive. For more information about how to become part of the Buy Local – Buy Rogue initiative or to get listed in the Rogue Flavor guide, call Jamie at 541-488-7272 or go to: www.BuyLocalRogue.org
