It’s apple-picking season.
Like the return of the alewives in the spring, the appearance of half-bushel totes of fresh-picked, Maine-grown apples in local stores is a surefire sign of fall. If you’re squeezed for time, grabbing a bag of picked apples is a ready-made solution, but if you can, get out to a local orchard this year.
There are at least four orchards in Lincoln County that welcome the public. A chilly afternoon spent with family picking apples, perhaps followed by some fresh, warm apple cider, is the kind of childhood memory that lasts a lifetime.
The other thing supporting your local apple orchard does is it keeps your money in the local community, where it continues to circulate. As a small, local business ourselves, we are big fans of supporting small, local businesses. Every dollar counts.
The money spent with any kind of business is used to pay the bills – some of which support other local businesses – and to pay employees. Even if the employee lives elsewhere, at least some of that paycheck is going to buy gas at a local station, food from a local store, and so on.
Circulating money is like moving water in that it generates its own momentum.
It’s always a good time to shop locally, but we suggest it is going to be more important than ever in the months ahead. It is no shock that our area has an influx of money spent in the summer, with short-term visitors and seasonal residents returning to this area. For many businesses, the offseason is more challenging. Frequenting our local businesses, especially during the fall and winter months, is critical for their success.
This year, there is uncertainty with how federal funding changes will impact us locally. All the more reason to work together and help your fellow neighbors, and local establishments.
We are going to need each other to pull through and one of the best, easiest ways to do your part is to buy local where you can.
Like buying a tote of fresh of fresh picked apples, it is a ready-made solution.
