IT WAS a staggering and abrupt reminder last month when I wanted to purchase 500g of polony locally at just how those of us on a limited income are getting to the point of wondering whether we can afford or even justify buying locally.
A 500g log of polony at the Toodyay IGA store cost $6.99.
A couple of weeks earlier I had a medical appointment in Northam and, like most of us, took the advantage while there of shopping at Aldi, Woolies or Coles.
I went to Aldi where the normal price for a 1kg log of polony was $3.49.
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The same quantity of polony in Toodyay would have cost $13.98.
My 50km return trip to Northam for a fuel cost of, say, $5 means I still saved $5.50 on the Aldi purchase.
I am so grateful that we have the convenience of an IGA store in Toodyay but it has become increasingly expensive to buy locally.
The $200 to $250 I would spend in Toodyay would have cost me no more than $105 to $120 in Northam.
I understand that the Toodyay store has overhead costs but you can see the effect the price of a 500g log of polony can have on the ‘buy local and keep a local in business’ philosophy.
When you seek a more attractive price elsewhere, you might also look for savings on other items, thus effectively hurting Toodyay businesses.
Tony Lush,
Toodyay
