The local grocery store is often the “anchor business” of a rural community, acting as a meeting place as well as a food vendor, says a Kansas State University expert quoted by DTN. David Proctor, director of KSU’s center for engagement and community development says grocery stores employed 15 full- and part-time workers and accounted for 20 percent of state and property tax revenue in the average rural community in a KSU study. Proctor says 38 percent of grocery stores in Kansas towns with less than 2,500 residents closed during 2006-09.
“Small communities across the country are finding ways to bring these important community assets back to their main streets,” says DTN. It describes the decision by Pam Budenbender to open a store in Onaga, Kan, where the closest grocer was 45 miles distant. In Cody, Neb, the high school opened a grocery store as a service to the town of 150 people and as an opportunity to give students experience in business and customer service.