Suport local businesses and food producers to ensure Wexford’s economy emerges as strongly as possible
NOW, more than ever before, it is important that we support local businesses and food producers, to ensure that the hard-hit Wexford economy emerges as strongly as possible from the Covid-19 crisis.
Shops and services that have remained open during the coronavirus restrictions are battling bravely at a time of unprecedented challenge and deserve nothing less than a loyal response from local consumers while many of those forced to close, are in need of online and telephone orders and the purchase of gift vouchers to survive.
Supermarkets, grocery shops, butchers, garages, fish merchants, oil distributors, insurance companies, hardware stores, fruit farms, fruit and veg shops and local quality food producers are continuing to work on our behalf, in the most difficult circumstances, looking after households and vulnerable people while ensuring that their customers and staff are safe.
In every town and village in the county, business owners and their hard-working employees who continue to keep food on our tables and supply vital services, are among the heroes in the current crisis.
We need to do our part by making an extra effort to buy from local outlets, choose locally produced food and drinks products and avail of local services where possible, to ensure that Wexford businesses and the county’s food industry survive into the future.
Many independent outlets and food growers/producers are family run enterprises which have been badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic forcing the closure of restaurants, hotels, cafes and pubs that they usually supply, and are depending on
local sales to stay in business.
In choosing to support them, we can help to save businesses and keep people in jobs, thereby helping ourselves by sustaining the local economy on which we all depend.
‘It is critical that every single person in Wexford plays their part to ensure that Wexford re-emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic as soon as possible’, said Fiona Lewis, CEO of the County Wexford Chamber which has launched an initiative called ‘Reviving Wexford’, as its response to ensuring the revival of the Wexford economy.
The Chamber is working on a retailer specific initiative to support shop owners and managers to get their businesses back up and running and to look to the future.
‘But initiatives need public support and everyone in Wexford can at this stage help by shopping local. This will ensure that the money spent stays in the county’, said Fiona, adding that County Wexford Chamber vouchers for local businesses can still be purchased,
The Chamber’s ‘Reviving Wexford’ survey, which will be published shortly, shows that retailers are very concerned about the impact that the increased practice of shopping online will have on their sales going forward.
Retailers who do not yet have an e-commerce platform are advised to contact the Chamber for assistance.
Shoppers who are restricted from leaving their homes due to cocooning or self-isolating requirements and have no option but to shop online, are asked to seek out Wexford businesses with online services and shop with them as their first consideration.