SERIES: More Than a Transaction • 5 of 6

In 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General declared loneliness a public health crisis—and the response from most institutions was more programs, more outreach, more campaigns. But some researchers are pointing to something simpler that’s already in our communities and quietly disappearing.

A 2025 report from the Trust for Civic Life surveyed 584 rural leaders and residents across eight states. What they found was striking: people expressed high trust in local institutions—including community businesses—and low trust in national institutions and corporations. That gap matters enormously.

The research also found that feelings of social trust, agency, and belonging are tightly linked to taking action in one’s community—not just talking about it. And local businesses are one of the few institutions where that kind of daily, informal participation happens organically, without anyone having to plan it or run a meeting about it. You show up, you’re known, you’re part of something.

Generation Z, for its part, is rediscovering this. They grew up online and are increasingly drawn to real, physical places where genuine interaction is possible. They aren’t going back to malls—they’re looking for third places, for local shops with character, for somewhere that feels honest.

When a local business closes, the community doesn’t just lose a store. It loses a trust anchor and a belonging infrastructure—something that held neighbors together without anyone realizing that was what it was doing. That’s a harder thing to rebuild than most people expect.

Trust in a local business isn’t just a consumer preference. It’s part of what makes people feel their community is worth belonging to.

See you next week for the final article in this series about local businesses and why they’re important.