Shop Local—Shop Safe

Shop local AND shop safe.

That is the message that Main Street Vineland and the Greater Vineland Chamber of Commerce are partnering to convey in a new campaign.

The campaign combines the message of the pledge that the two organizations previously rolled out to support local businesses, with the message to do everything to follow existing safety precautions while shopping and supporting businesses locally—from retail stores to their suppliers.

Part of the roll-out of the campaign will include 200 yard signs that will act as a visible reminder.

“We want people to do what we asked of them before—to follow the guidelines of Governor Murphy and the Center for Disease Control about social distancing, to support our local businesses that have been forced to close and those that can remain open, and to take the “Support Local Businesses” pledge on our website to do so,” said Main Street Executive Director Russell Swanson. “We also, however, want to emphasize doing this in a safe, responsible manner—following guidelines inside and outside of businesses, so that we can get back to business faster.”

Main Street Vineland Associate Director Robert Scarpa emphasizes that this is what we should do—not only for our local businesses downtown and around Vineland, but for the employees who are also local.

“We have to remember that the people who own and work for our local businesses—whether they are smaller businesses or big-box stores—are our friends and neighbors. Your support and patronage during this hard time for them will help to carry them through,” Scarpa said.

Greater Vineland Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Dawn Hunter pointed out that the support must go to all levels of the business chain.

“Wherever possible, we should also support the local suppliers and distributors in the area. Where a local supplier or distributor exists, businesses at the retail level should work with those wholesalers,” Hunter said.

Swanson, Scarpa, and Hunter also stressed that these various types of support should continue even after the economy reopens and our local businesses will be hard at work to getting back up to speed.

“Their economic health is OUR economic health,” they said.

For more information on all Main Street Vineland initiatives and programs, call the Main Street Vineland office at 856-794-8653, visit the organization’s website at www.TheAve.biz, or visit the organization’s Facebook page.

For more information about the Greater Chamber of Commerce, visit their website at www.vinelandchamber.org and their Facebook page—Greater Vineland Chamber.