The City of Santa Cruz celebrated national Small Business Week from April 30th to May 6th with a week-long "shop local" campaign and the Food Slam wrap up event. 

Small businesses are part of what make our community unique. They provide a variety of shopping choices, create a draw for visitors and locals alike, and nurture community relationships and cohesiveness. Each dollar spent at an independent business returns an average of three times more money to our community than spending at a chain store. They employ more people per dollar of revenue, and they use a wide range of other goods and services, expanding opportunities for other local entrepreneurs.  And, they donate more than twice as much per sales dollars to local non-profits, events, and teams compared to big businesses or chains. While it is important to shop local year-round, Small Business Week provided an opportunity to thank all of our small businesses for all they do for the community. 

Small Business Week wrapped up with the Food Slam. Over 100 people attend the Saturday, May 6th event, which was hosted by the Food Lounge.

Nine local businesses participated, sampling their products and each giving a 3-minute food related presentation. Attendees were able to sample wine, snack on delicious empanadas, and even try a cotton candy chicken treat all while taking in the 3-minute presentations: 

• Buttercup Cakes & Farmhouse Frosting - Frosting flowers on cupcakes
• Kickin’ Chicken - How to butcher a Chicken
• La Sofrita - What is in that Sauce?!
• Chef Zach Mazi - The Art of Plating
• Margins Wine - Launching the Margins Wine label
• Jesikah Stolaroff - How to make a s'mores cookie
• Assembly - Summer Strawberry Cocktail
• My Food Smith - Cauliflower magic& Healthy Eating Options
• Food Lounge - Food Lounge Pantry

We are excited about the success of Small Business Week and the Food Slam! and look forward to planning something bigger and better for next year.