Livin’ La Vida Local

October 31, 2016 — economy, localism, shop local, Tucson

Day of the Dead in Tucson

Localoop

My city is the best place to live, or to be dead. Tucson celebrates Dia de los Muertos in a very big way.  I love the festive, colorful death party that is our own home-grown version of the Mexican All Souls Day.  My own parents are in the cemetery not very far from downtown, so I am sure they will take part again this year.  My hound dog now joins her grandparents in the festivities.  She is scattered at the pet cemetery across town, but space and time are no longer an issue for her, and she loves to party.  They will be in the ghostly part of the procession.

My friends joke with me about my extreme localism.  My business jurisdiction (where I spend my money) is as tight as I can make it. I am a true believer in supporting the small business efforts of my neighborhood establishments.  I love to discover local providers of all kinds.  This week I discovered two new ways to fulfill my dream of finding and frequenting local enterprises.  At TenWest I met Aaron Gopp, creator of a new app, Localoop.  He is enthusiastic about his new service, locating businesses that meet a strict locally owned and operated criteria for people like me.  It was a lucky break that he stopped to chat at our table.  His directory was created for my very picky and specific needs. It will also help businesses discover and reach potential clients in the area.   I have downloaded it and already have found a couple of places near home of which I was unaware.  As he develops this I look forward to the guidance it will provide to consumers as well as to businesses.  My neighborhood could use some economic development.

While I was out biking around town with my homies I stopped at the Local First Arizona booth.  Aaron credits this group with helping him and giving him good guidelines to follow for defining what is local.  This non-profit foundation exists to support local small business.  It has membership and benefits, like a chamber of commerce.  They have created a system of locating local food sources called Good Food Finder AZ.com  This page lists local providers, restaurants, farms, markets, and aggregators.  There is even information about local food assistance programs. This is a major service to society.  Both the food finding and the local looping will make me very happy, and upgrade the economy around me.  Do you like to shop local, gentle reader?  What are your best ways to discover new places in your area?