LOCAL ECONOMIES • LOCAL FOOD ECONOMY GAME
let the buyers know what is available, to get them thinking about different reasons to choose things,
and to simulate some of the hype that we are subjected to in food advertising.
Before the shopping begins hand everyone a situation card. (If there are extra cards, you might give
some people two.) These cards describe a situation that may affect the purchasing decisions of the
shoppers. The shoppers must role-play based on the card(s) they receive. Players who owe money or
get to collect money should do so through the banker.
Give players 10 minutes to shop.
At the end of ten minutes ask players to take a seat with their purchases. Have participants describe
what they bought and the decision-making process they went through to make their purchases.
• How did the situation cards affect their decisions? What factors were important to them? Price?
Organic? Quality? Convenience? Source? How do different factors affect different groups of
people? Was everyone able to purchase what they would have liked to? Did anyone come up with
a creative solution for purchasing? How does this type of situation make them feel as a consumer?
Does a simulation like this seem realistic?
When the discussion is complete, ask the three shopkeepers to count their money and announce
their “gross sales.” (Remember to subtract the amount that they each started with.) Of course, these
are not profits because no costs have been subtracted. Ask the shopkeepers what their experience
was with selling to this group.
• Why were they successful or not? What different strategies could they use to bring in more
customers?
Now ask all the shoppers to line up - do not tell them why. When they are lined up tell them it is
payday and the shopkeepers are going to pay their employees using the gross sales that each
shopkeeper collected. Explain that this represents the money that gets returned by a business to
the local community. Each shopkeeper should pay back the percentage of gross sales listed on the
“Where Does The Money Go” sheet and explain why to the group. The supermarket owner should
pay back first starting at the end of the line and continue down till his/her money is gone. Suzy picks
up where he/she left off, followed by Fredo. The people at the end of the line will probably not get
any money. The facilitator explains that because the local businesses have not been doing too well,
some people are going to have to be laid off.
Now play the game one more time. Give everyone five more minutes to shop. Do not use the situation
cards this time. Some people will not be able to buy anything.
When the last purchases are made, debrief the group again on what happened in round two. Did
people make different purchases the second time? What considerations were important to them
now? Did the discussion in round one or the results of the buying affect their purchases in round
two? How did the unemployed people feel? Is there anyone who will not be able to eat tonight?
What are the advantages/disadvantages to buying locally and supporting a local economy? Finish
the discussion by brainstorming a list of things individuals and the community can do to support local
businesses.
GOOD FOOD PURCHASING PROGRAM • GOOD FOOD RISING
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