Raise the Hammer

Interesting subject indeed. Hamilton downtown is changing and it feels that there is this creative undercurrent that wants to offer an alternative to Corporate Culture. I love the fact that Hamilton is a real city but still small enough to generate its own vision. Co-Ops thrived after the second world war and served a purpose that is just as relevant today with the economy being what it is. It is a sad fact that big grocery chains are run purely on profit and loss, not community value. A Co-Op would be a welcome alternative. Any kind of independent grocers, butchers or other small holdings would obviously need the support of local residents. I for one would pay more for local or trusted food items. Buying, for example, such items in a large supermarket, as say: bagged salad and certain cold meats? Trucked in from unknown origin and mass factories. This fact alone opens you up to Listeria etc. The fancy package has everything to do with marketing psychology, nothing to do with content. On many occasions I have had to question my trust in a product, over price, as the deciding factor because it seems to me that pre-packaged convenience foods are made for shelf life, never human health or nutrition. Basic food is affordable, it is the packaging, transport, marketing and built in 'profit margins' that add to the overall pricing. Denningers cold cuts are comparable in price to mass packaged brands and they are local and their kitchens can be trusted. The Farmers Market downtown and on Ottawa Street can be trusted if you know which stall holders sell local grown and butchered. I think a vegetable store next to Denningers on King Street would do very well. I would open one if I had the funds to do it. It also goes back to being content with making a 'living wage' and not always putting the focus on massive profit. I know of one major food chain that stopped selling leftover bakery items as too many people were coming in at the end of the day to purchase day-old sale items and not buying the full price product. No profit in that kind of consumer and to heck with the community! No Frills serves a purpose but many consumers are growing tired of mega-companies that cater only to a certain demographic. There is a lot of poverty downtown but we should not always believe that only the big-name stores can provide value for money. We the general public, seem to be programmed to think (by mass media) that we are smart by knowing the 'price of everything and the value of nothing'. There are also many families with a healthy disposable income that happen to live downtown. Sad to say I am not one of them, and we do not own a car, but I would (and do) support locally owned businesses for health and ethical reasons.

Comment edited by 2bhonest on 2012-05-21 11:15:31