Join us in taking small steps that will make big impacts in 2024

That blank page feeling can be disconcerting, where did 2023 go? What will 2024 bring. There has been so much upheaval and uncertainty in the last few years it is understandable that the idea of more changes are not always appealing.

Small changes really can make a difference. Maybe you turned the heating down 1 or 2 degrees and have seen a saving in your bills. Maybe you have chosen to take a walk in your lunch break when working from home and feel better for it.

Here are the things on the top of our New Year list:

Buy more consciously: making a list can prevent us overbuying – saving money and creating less food waste. Add in a meat free day, fish Friday or slap-up Sunday roast.

Buy Local: fit in a trip to the butchers, community store or farm shop, or order a veg box or home delivery. When you shop at small businesses, your money stays within the local economy, helping local communities thrive See Discover

Gift Local: who doesn’t love something handmade, individual and carefully chosen. Browse a little now and plan ahead and save yourself from that panic ‘next day delivery’ gift. See Lifestyle & Home

Celebrate Local: family birthday, anniversary, date night or just getting friends together: pick somewhere that is doing their bit to support other local businesses and creating local jobs. Could be your local pub, or an experience at a local vineyard or brewery, maybe even a day out to your favourite seaside town.

Get creative in the kitchen: Whether it’s trying something new that been delivered in your veg box or using up leftovers, you will be saving money as well as food waste – a double win. Check out our Seasonality page for some inspiration.

Explore your doorstep: We do it on holiday or when visiting friends, but we don’t always do it at home. Kent is packed full of country parks, coastal paths, historic sites and much more. Our friends at Visit Kent have some great ideas for enjoying Kent sustainably, so you are doing you bit for the planet at the same time.

If we all do a few little things, as part of our everyday lives, we will make a real difference to small businesses all over Kent. We also get great products and service and discover more about this great county we live in.