In the early days of the pandemic, social media feeds were flooded with messages and encouragement to support small business. Many people stepped up and supported entrepreneurs struggling to make ends meet when they were forced to close their doors.

These same small businesses continue to need our community’s support, especially with food prices soaring along with other household expenses and the holiday shopping season upon us.

There’s no better time to be reminded of the need to support local business than Small Business Saturday on Nov. 25, the day after Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year.

Small businesses employ nearly half of all workers in the U.S., and in our state, nearly half of employees support their families with paychecks and benefits provided by the state’s 657,000 small businesses, according to the regional office of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

When you shop local, you directly support the Tri-Cities’ economy.

We recently have seen several small businesses supporting one another, and we urge consumers to follow their example.

Richland’s Emerald of Siam held an October fundraiser to help its Uptown Shopping Center neighbor, Ray’s Golden Lion, offset costly repairs that stymied its opening.

Richland’s Tumbleweeds Mexican Flair owner Keith Moon constantly promotes other Tri-Cities businesses on social media, and they often return the favor. He also launched a campaign soliciting donations to sponsor pans of enchiladas that the restaurant could deliver for free to families in need. More than 100 trays of food had been funded by community partners by Nov. 8, the restaurant reported on social media.

Kennewick’s Hot Mess Burgers & Fries recently challenged every restaurant and food truck in the Tri-Cities to support a Chefs’Giving fundraiser which also involves asking customers to donate a meal to feed those in need.

These are terrific examples of entrepreneurs pumping goodwill and ripples of kindness into the world, and our world always can use more of this.

And this brings us back to Small Business Saturday and our annual reminder to shop local.

Participating is easy. Shop for gifts, goods and services from local stores (many have online options), eat at neighborhood restaurants, or treat the kids, friends or families to a fun activity. The Tri-Cities has so many great options in all these categories, and we know our business community would be grateful for your support.