Rural Groceries Find New Ways to Stay Alive

Plenty of threats plague the rural grocery. Aside from the shrinking populations of the towns these markets serve, some food suppliers impose minimum buying requirements that are beyond what a local store can sell—forcing these small shops to pay surcharges for their minimal orders.

Then there are big-box stores. As massive competitors like Walmart Supercenters pop up in cities within sometimes an hour-long drive of these rural towns, residents are enticed by the low prices and other attractions of their more populous neighbors.

"We're about 45 miles from Sioux City, Iowa, and 60, 70 miles from Omaha," says Jon Bailey, director of research and analysis at the Center for Rural Affairs, located in Lyons, Neb. (population: 851). "A lot of people go to work in those cities, so we're close enough that if you're able to drive and can afford to drive, you can go to one of those cities to shop."

To be fair, driving so far to get groceries is less of a chore for many rural residents than it may seem to someone living eight blocks from an urban Safeway. But for some elderly residents of these small towns, says Bailey, it may be too dangerous to drive to the nearest store, and there may not be any family members around who can help.

And elderly or not, these rural customers are also spending extra money on round-trips that can last hours.