How shopping local can make Wicklow better

As the dust begins to settle after a long and difficult Lockdown, the first in our history and something we were ill-prepared for, we are now looking to each other for ways to rebuild and bring back some of the normality we lost along the way.

There’s a spontaneity missing to our trips down the Main Street, and it’s sometimes surreal to walk down those familiar streets after avoiding them for so many months. Wicklow Town is, like many other towns and villages in Ireland, trying to find its feet again – and it needs our active engagement if we are ever to return to normal, and to create something better than normal.

The people of Wicklow Town responded to covid-19 by social distancing, helping neighbours in need, and offering encouragement to our frontline and essential workers. We did our very best, and our very best has been reflected in the dwindling number of covid-19 cases to this date. Now it’s time to rebuild our town by helping the local businesses that comprise its very core.

It’s a vote for Wicklow

Local businesses contribute more to local charities and fundraisers than their national counterparts. When you buy local produce or products from a local business, that money is going back into the community via these channels as well as through local sports and club sponsorships. This provides funding for community groups, local initiatives, and charities such as Wicklow Cancer Support.

It’s better for the environment

Cutting down your ‘food miles’ is one of the best first steps to take in cutting down carbon omissions. By purchasing produce or products that are sourced locally, you’re paying for something that has travelled only a few miles (if even) to get to your home. However, by buying from larger international brands, these food miles can clock up to the thousands – meaning less quality and way more carbon omissions.

It lessens the spread of covid-19

Nobody is asking anyone to live in a bubble and never leave your town again, but it’s never been more important than now to think locally and exercise caution in where you travel to. Using the local businesses dramatically cuts down your need to travel further lengths for services or products that are already available on your doorstep.

It creates more jobs

Creating more demand for a product or service in your town also creates more opportunities for workers, many of whom may have lost their jobs due to covid-19. This is especially true in the hospitality industry, which has suffered massive losses over the months and will need every bit of help in order to recover.

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We have a long and winding road ahead of us as a community, which is why it’s important that we come together to create a ‘new normal’ that exceeds the conditions we were living in previously. This isn’t just about helping Wicklow recover, it’s about making Wicklow better than it was before. And the first step towards realising that goal is by spending money closer to home.