About Us

The Meadville Insider’s Guide is the culmination of a semester’s work in an Allegheny College Junior Seminar exploring sustainable development, taught through the Environmental Science Department. Fourteen students and two professors examined the various environmental, health, and socioeconomic issues facing Meadville, Pennsylvania. We chose to concentrate on a group of problems prevalent in many small, post-industrial, rural communities: the trend toward a sedentary, non-engaged lifestyle characterized by the loss of downtown businesses, lack of individual participation in the community, eroding community and individual health, and economic downturn.

We have found that these common issues are accompanied by a set of mistaken assumptions about Meadville: that Meadville is a dying town, that economic opportunity is not available, and that this trend of decline is both natural and irreversible. In reality, the face of Meadville’s economy is changing. The decline of manufacturing and the shift to a service economy is a nation-wide trend that presents us with new opportunities. We must challenge our negative stereotypes and embrace the possibilities: economic revitalization, community engagement, environmental stewardship, and healthy lifestyles.

How, then, can this website help? We designed this website to be a tool for the community to gain access to everything local. You can search for hours on this site, but you won’t find chain stores or restaurants. What you will find, for example, is the Meadville Markethouse. Here you can buy locally produced food that is healthier than the highly processed alternatives available at major retailers. Your dollars stay in Meadville and support the local farmer rather than supporting corporate headquarters in a distant location. Without even trying, you’ve become an environmental steward by purchasing goods that travel fewer miles from food to table.

We hope this website serves as a foundation to promote a more positive, vibrant view of the Meadville, Pennsylvania community! Keep this website in mind next time you’re stumped for something to do!