Touch the Soil News #2050 (photo – Vegetables – Courtesy of USDA)
The demand for the services of a grocery store is through the volume dollars that show up to buy. However, that demand must not only satisfy the costs of keeping the doors open, but a return on investment established in corporate headquarters hundreds of miles away. The trend in any rural areas is for grocery stores to close and often times it’s the only grocery store in town. In Kansas, one in five rural stores closed between 2008 and 2018. In some towns, the local population got together to buy the store and keep it open.
It’s not only locals that suffer from lack of access, sales of what farmers produce also does not happen. The state of Nebraska is considering legislation to provide grants to small grocers. Just because the financial demand may be weak, does not mean the demand for eating has decreased. Does this trend call for a new kind of food chain? A food chain with smaller and simpler layouts with What would you do? You can read the full story here:
