Fourth of July is my favorite holiday.

It commemorates the adoption of The Declaration of Independence. The birth of our great nation is celebrated with two things that I am a huge fan of: fireworks and barbecues.

Fireworks bring your friends, family, neighbors and entire city out to one place to witness the show. Barbecues do the same. Who can resist the smells of a charcoal grill being lit, ribs cooking for hours with the aroma wafting through the neighborhood?

As we enter into the best barbecue weekend of the year, there is one very important topic worth discussing: what will be on your grill and where did you buy it?

We take a lot of time planning our Fourth of July barbecues. We invite family and friends over and we want to make it great, right? First class barbecues start with amazing things to grill.

Sausages from a place like The Sausage Shoppe at 4501 Memphis Ave. in Cleveland (216-351-5213) would be a good start. Vegetables from your local farmers market would be a fabulous idea. Fish or seafood from a quality supplier like BayLobsters at 3423 Cleveland Road in Wooster (330-601-1200) would be very smart. Beef and chicken and pork from your local butcher shop, fabulous.

We are blessed with some very good grocery stores in our area. They provide great products and services to us all and I shop at several of them on a regular basis. We need them as much as they need us. But to me, supporting the local butchers, fish mongers and farmers is extremely important.

They have a much tougher business model and are in it because they love what they do and they see the value of their services. I spoke with a local farmer who I met at a graduation party over the weekend and I was impressed with how she approached her business. She was just as interested in educating the public on new ideas and old ways as she was interested in making money.

Butchers are a great example of a craft that is disappearing. Having a local butcher that takes the craft seriously turns buying meat into an experience instead of just an errand. When a butcher has hanging beef for instance, it probably came from a nearby farm and not from a massive meat purveyor. You can often see the meat being cut right in front of you.

Better yet, you can request cuts that are sometimes hard to find, like my favorite “pin tail sirloin,” and you keep your dollars local by supporting local farmers and local business.

A great example of this is Mack’s Food Center located at 9945 Greenwich Road in Lodi (330-948-1199). I asked co-owner Patty Boesel why people should develop a relationship with a local butcher.

“It’s like your relationship with your barber or hairstylist. You know they will give you the perfect trim,” Patty said.

What about cuts Mack’s offers that bigger grocery stores may not offer?

“Brisket, flank steaks, skirt steaks, but most of all, we can give you the exact cut you want. Need a and 1/4-inch cut or a 2-inch cut, we can do that,” she said.

Patty told me that their beef comes from Jeromesville, so it is literally right around the corner. Grain-fed and minimal transport guarantees freshness and quality. I asked her what makes Mack’s the best place to buy a perfect steak for the grill. Her answer is exactly what I was thinking when I recently shopped there.

“When a customer walks up to our meat counter and they see the steaks, they look and say that steak is mine. When they leave, they are thinking about the steak they purchased,” she said.

Indeed, I had that experience when I bought a long bone sirloin, 1 and 1/4-inch thick, from their case. Perfect.

So the question remains, when you are grilling out this weekend, or this summer, where’s the beef from?

My recommendation is to try the locally-raised and butchered beef at the butcher near you. Support a local butcher who buys cows raised locally (ask about that) and you not only get the best possible quality, you are spending your hard-earned money in the best possible way.

Keeping it local means improving the world immediately around you.

Happy grilling!