Answer:
In this context, the word patronize suggests to shop regularly at.
Step-by-step explanation:
The sentence states that there are many long time residents who didn’t like to shop from the huge new grocery store, thus patronize small local markets. Here, the term patronize means a regular customer, the one who shops frequently from a particular store.
So when the new grocery store arrived, those people who were shopping regularly from old local shops, disliked the new store and thus continued shopping from their local grocery store and farm stands, in turn supporting their small business.