If you've been following the Local First program for a while, you know we're all about creating opportunities to support local and amplify our membership base. It's these businesses that keep our money close to home, employ our neighbors, and hold themselves accountable to our community. And while we may sound like a broken record, we'll keep saying it: They need your ongoing support.

We’ve learned that building a People First Economy takes more than a single action, one time. But it doesn’t have to be as overwhelming as changing everything all at once. We encourage you to instead think about a single action as the beginning of forming a habit. A good habit.

New habits take anywhere from 18 to 254 days to form (European Journal of Social Psychology), which is why we’re going to provide resources all year long. 

Need some inspiration? Here are six local and sustainable habits to include in your New Year's Resolutions!

Fall and winter are busy times for all of us. And after a year of working to build back better from the ongoing pandemic, the 2021 Holiday Season is no exception. Add to that the year-end bookkeeping, social (distance) engagements, busy storefront hours, and personal holiday shopping, it's no wonder these months fly by. It's enough to overwhelm anyone.

Food naturally brings people together. Whether it’s making a meal, supporting a farmer, sharing a recipe, or celebrating a special occasion: food is communal.

The People First Economy Podcast is here to bring you insight into how we, our businesses, and our partners are all working towards building and participating in a People First Economy! You’ll hear stories, ideas, tools, campaigns, and whatnot that align with our efforts to build this new economy!

There’s no denying we need financial systems to keep the world goin’ round. Access to capital supports the growth of resilient, placed-based economies. Ideally, these economies meet our basic needs, build wealth and social capital, work in harmony with our ecosystem, and encourage joy. But do our current financial systems work for us?

Thank you for joining Local First for the third of four Rebuilding our Local Economy webinar events! Each quarter, the Local First team brings new resources and technical support to you by tapping the expertise of our community.

Coffee Hour is back in person! This last year has taught us the immense value in gathering as a community and building connections.

Get to know Featherlight

Raise your hand if you're a small business owner or employee looking for a better way to run your subscription based website. Good news! There's a local way to create and revamp your website or ecommerce site - Featherlight! Learn more about this service from our Q&A with owner Tyler Doornbos. 

Have you seen shopLOCUS.com yet? It's time to give it a whirl! LOCUS offers an e-commerce platform to find and support local, independent businesses. Your Local First team is a big fan and we hope you enjoy learning more about the people and the vision behind this awesome platform. Check out our Q&A with LOCUS owners Jill DeJonge and Eric Haslinger: