Question

eat, drink, shop local
1 buy local campaigns have popped up all over the country, encouraging consumers to support their local community businesses. the movement aims at moving customers away from large, big - box retailers and motivating them to support local business owners, farmers, craftsmen, and other product providers. while buying locally clearly supports ones own community, the value of supporting local businesses goes much further than that. consumers should support local businesses not only to boost the local economy, but also to help cities and towns maintain their own unique identities and cohesive communities.
what is the authors main claim or argument?
local businesses need financial support more than big - box stores and chains.
small businesses offer consumers a broad range of locally made products.
people should support local businesses to benefit their communities.

Explanation:

The text states that buy-local campaigns encourage supporting local businesses, and that the value of this support extends beyond just the local economy to maintaining community identity and cohesion. The core argument is that consumers should support local businesses for community benefits. The other options are not the main claim: the text does not compare financial need of local vs big-box stores, nor focus on product range.

Answer:

People should support local businesses to benefit their communities.