Rural Grocery Initiative

Rural Grocery Initiative RGI aims to sustain locally-owned rural groceries to enhance community vitality & access to healthy food.

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The deadline to apply for a Predevelopment Technical Assistance Grant from the Kansas Healthy Food Initiative is just tw...
09/14/2025

The deadline to apply for a Predevelopment Technical Assistance Grant from the Kansas Healthy Food Initiative is just two weeks away! This opportunity is open to organizations and businesses that are planning projects to expand healthy food access at retail outlets. Learn more and apply by September 28th at https://www.kansashealthyfood.org/programdetails/assistance/index.html.

The National Rural Grocery Summit is the premier networking and resource-sharing venue for independent grocers and rural...
09/05/2025

The National Rural Grocery Summit is the premier networking and resource-sharing venue for independent grocers and rural food access stakeholders across the country. Sponsorship support makes this event possible. Learn more and commit to sponsoring at ruralgrocery.org/summit/sponsor.

Rural consumers have fewer options for shopping as a result of grocery store closures."If a grocery store closes, the co...
09/03/2025

Rural consumers have fewer options for shopping as a result of grocery store closures.

"If a grocery store closes, the community loses out on economic benefits from local jobs and contribution to the local tax base [and] the community loses out on access to healthy food." - Rial Carver, program director at Kansas State University's Rural Grocery Initiative

In an age of corporate consolidation, grocery store closures and competition from discount retailers, rural shoppers find themselves with fewer options to buy groceries from.

Applications open today for the Kansas Department of Commerce's SEED grant program. These grants are available to commun...
08/29/2025

Applications open today for the Kansas Department of Commerce's SEED grant program. These grants are available to communities in 78 eligible Kansas counties. Grants of up to $25,000 will be awarded in four categories, including in food retail for "projects that increase access to food through new, expanded or renovated retail spaces." To learn more and apply before the deadline of October 28th, visit https://www.kansascommerce.gov/seedgrants/.

SEED Grants Strategic Economic Expansion and Development The purpose of SEED grants is to support the economic revitalization of Kansas communities under 5,000 population through investments in quality-of-life initiatives.ย ย  SEED grants are funded under the Technology-Enabled Fiduciary Financial I...

Independent and locally-owned grocery stores are a crucial part of the food system, but many lack local food offerings. ...
08/28/2025

Independent and locally-owned grocery stores are a crucial part of the food system, but many lack local food offerings. This is a missed opportunity for both grocers and producers.

To increase local food offerings, innovative local sourcing models are needed. Through a cooperative agreement, the Rural Grocery Initiative and USDA Agricultural Marketing Services conducted research and developed five in-depth case studies of businesses and organizations that have pioneered solutions to local food access in grocery stores.

Join us for a webinar on October 2nd at 12 PM Central to explore key findings from this research project! You can register here: https://ksu.zoom.us/meeting/register/8rH0Iu_NRoquv8UrXrhEPA #/registration

If youโ€™re planning to attend the Big Kansas Road Trip, be sure to stop in to this local grocery store. The cinnamon roll...
08/22/2025

If youโ€™re planning to attend the Big Kansas Road Trip, be sure to stop in to this local grocery store. The cinnamon rolls alone look worth the trip. ๐Ÿ˜

Shape the agenda for the 2026 National Rural Grocery Summit!  The 2026 NRG Summit Planning Committee is seeking proposal...
08/19/2025

Shape the agenda for the 2026 National Rural Grocery Summit!

The 2026 NRG Summit Planning Committee is seeking proposals for presentations, panel discussions, workshops and posters that relate to rural grocery, community resilience and innovation in rural food access.

Proposals are due October 1, 2025 at 11:59 PM Central.

Learn more at: www.ruralgrocery.org/summit/proposals/

The deadline to register for the fall 2025 offering of our Rural Grocery Transition Specialist course is just one week a...
08/18/2025

The deadline to register for the fall 2025 offering of our Rural Grocery Transition Specialist course is just one week away! This program trains and deploys resource professionals across the country to better serve rural grocers through business transitions. Graduates receive a microcredential from Kansas State University and join our national network of professionals dedicated to supporting rural communities. To learn more and sign up before the deadline, visit https://www.ruralgrocery.org/specialist/.

Our second day in north central Kansas this week was dedicated to our first Kansas Rural Grocery Road Trip! This event w...
08/15/2025

Our second day in north central Kansas this week was dedicated to our first Kansas Rural Grocery Road Trip! This event was attended by legislators, legislative staff, economic developers, funders, and other rural food access stakeholders. Attendees were able to learn about the challenges rural grocery stores face while touring four grocery stores:
๐Ÿ“ Klema Apple Market in Russell
๐Ÿ“ Bโ€™s Hometown Market in La Crosse
๐Ÿ“ Town and Country Supermarket Kansas in Hoisington
๐Ÿ“ Wilson Foods in Wilson

Over 30 grocers came together in north-central Kansas this week as we hosted the Kansas Rural Grocers Retreat in Russell...
08/14/2025

Over 30 grocers came together in north-central Kansas this week as we hosted the Kansas Rural Grocers Retreat in Russell! We talked about growing basket size, staying relevant in today's market, the opportunity for Food is Medicine and healthy benefit cards, and much more. We also had the opportunity to tour Klema Apple Market.

Exciting announcement: the Kansas Healthy Food Initiative is now accepting applications for a second round of predevelop...
08/11/2025

Exciting announcement: the Kansas Healthy Food Initiative is now accepting applications for a second round of predevelopment technical assistance grants! This opportunity is open to organizations and businesses that are planning projects to expand healthy food access at retail outlets.

Project activities could include market or feasibility research, architectural design assistance or site planning, community assessments and engagement, business planning, legal counsel, etc.

The deadline to apply is Sunday, September 28.

Learn more at https://www.kansashealthyfood.org/programdetails/assistance/index.html

A pilot program in North Dakota was announced this week to "help sustain rural North Dakota grocery stores by developing...
08/07/2025

A pilot program in North Dakota was announced this week to "help sustain rural North Dakota grocery stores by developing a joint distribution network and keeping more locally produced food in the state." Less than 90 grocery stores remain in the state. Learn more about the need for this exciting project in the article below.

A pilot program aims to help sustain rural North Dakota grocery stores by developing a joint distribution network and keeping more locally produced food in the state, organizers announced Monday.

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919 MidCampus Drive North
Manhattan, KS
66506

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Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

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