One Masterton councillor has taken his commitment to shopping local to new limits.
First-term representative Tim Nelson has gone six months with shopping only at brick-and mortar-stores in the district.
Masterton on the morning of 26 March 2020 - the first day of the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown. Photo: RNZ / Te Aniwa Hurihanganui
Nelson, who is also the principal of Masterton's Lakeview School, set himself the challenge during the March and April Covid-19 lockdown.
Tim Nelson Photo: Supplied / Facebook
"What it's showing me is you really can support Masterton in ways you previously thought you couldn't have done.
"So for example I would always have bought my football boots from Rebel Sports. This time I bought them from Stirling Sports [in Masterton's Queen St].
"I bought my running shoes from Kathmandu. Every single thing I've bought, clothing, books, had been from a Masterton bricks and mortar store."
Any additional cost would be saved in travel costs, and would help the town out long-term, he said.
"If I buy a paperback book from Amazon I'm not supporting local, there's no benefit.
"But if I buy my books from Paper Plus or Hedleys, it supports Masterton people.
"And it doesn't cost a lot more.
"I've found the prices aren't any different and I'm getting it back in fuel, not travelling to Wellington or Palmerston North."
He was "a little bit fortunate" as he could make decisions around prices that others could not.
"I have no issues with a family going to Kmart because there's an opportunistic moment and you need to take those."
Nelson also took a twist on another lockdown challenge.
The avid athlete had already followed the online push-up challenges popular during the lockdown.
He backed one local business, The Screening Room, by regularly ordering coffee and cheesecake during his one-man "shop local" campaign.
"I love the staff there - they're really good people. I remember fearing going into lockdown that they may really struggle.
"When I came back the first week [after Covid-19 Alert Level 4], I bought a bit of cheesecake.
"And so every week, for 25 weeks, I got a bit of cheesecake.
"It was a nice thing to do and they're such good people.
"And if I go in there to spend $12 on a piece of cheesecake and a coffee, it's not massive, but it is big for our local businesses."
Nelson hoped other people would follow his lead.
"My hope is people really get behind our town and in every decision they make they buy here and support a local business."
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