Kasie Clifford, a finance and accounting associate at healthcare transportation startup RoundTrip, found herself like other Philadelphians who had weathered the coronavirus pandemic storm, job intact — wondering how, in her privileged situation, she could continue to support local businesses.

Clifford was a fan of shopping locally as much as she could before the pandemic hit, but when hundreds of small businesses in the area had to shut down or lay off staff, she realized how important buying power can be. While quarantining and with extra time on her hands, Clifford and her boyfriend, Gianni Parenti, launched the Instagram account @localphl to highlight the local businesses they were supporting.

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