WASHINGTON, D.C. (RFD-TV) — Limited grocery options remain a challenge for some rural communities, but new approaches are being explored to improve access to food.
University of Illinois agricultural economist John Shadowens says communities are exploring new ways to make rural grocery stores more sustainable.
“One of my contemporaries that I’m working with is saying that in Kansas, they’ve got a young couple that is starting a chain of stores that are 24-7 access, but they are completely unmanned except for a few hours a day to restock. Some customers don’t like that. They like seeing the clerk and everything, but to have a profitable store, this chain has decided that their means of profitability will be to save on labor. You still have access, you can still have a membership, you get a key card, you can go in, you pay a nominal fee to belong to that. That might be what more of our local food access starts looking like.”
Groups like the Farm Bureau are also looking at ways to keep more food in the communities where it is grown. Terri Moore with the group says farmers receive only a small share of what consumers spend on food.
“It’s partly because we have a very complex food supply chain. Although farmers are the first link in that chain, there are many other links: processing, packaging, transporting, marketing, and all of those take a piece of the pie when it comes to the food dollar. We know from USDA analysis that their share is only about 5.8 cents of each industry food dollar.”
Moore added there is no single solution for improving the farm economy, but expanding export markets would be ideal.
