If this recent economic downturn shows us anything, it's the importance a strong local economy.

Where I live, buying local is all the rage when it comes to food--and in western Mass., we are lucky enough to have good local milk (Our Family Farms), good local bread (El Jardin) and lots of farm stands.

The buy-local ethos is so strong here that even Dining Services at UMass Amherst buys a lot of its produce from local farmers, which gives them a good source of revenue, and amps up the quality of the food in the dining commons.

CISA is a local group that encourages and facilitates the sale of locally-grown food. 

Now there's a new organization called the 3/50 project, which encourages local spending at brick-and-mortar stores to keep them going. They make a great case for spending locally.

                                                                                                        --B.J. Roche