Grocery Store Summit

Opportunity knocks!

Local grocery stores represent a critical infrastructure for our rural communities. These stores are an important part of the economic engine that sustains rural communities, providing essential jobs and taxes. They are a vital source for nutrition and health, providing a supply of fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy, and protein. Grocery stores, like schools, restaurants, and post offices, are community assets used to recruit and retain citizens, providing a symbol of community health.   Unfortunately, it seems every day we hear about another store closing shop and shutting their doors. In Kansas alone, 82 grocery stores in communities of fewer than 2,000 people have closed since 2007.   Although, we have several strong grocery stores in Phillips County, we need to encourage them, support them, and give positive comments as to how they might improve.  

Because the loss of a rural grocery store threatens the health of local citizens and the very existence of that community, Kansas State University and a broad range of partners have been working to assist rural communities and their grocery stores. They been collecting data on rural grocery stores by surveying store owners and rural grocery consumers, identifying and archiving the latest research, and talking with store owners, policy makers, and funders about grocery store challenges and their best practices.

They have put together a Rural Grocery Store Summit where owners can discuss issues, but also investigate options to keep their stores viable in the rural economic climate.  For more information on this summit, visit www.dce.k-state.edu/conf/ruralgrocery or www.ruralgrocery.org

Submitted by:  Jeff Hofaker