National Rural Grocery Summit

May 24, 2018

June 25-26, 2018
Manhattan, KS – Hilton Garden Inn
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Overview

Millions of rural residents now face limited choice and low quality in their retail food options. Significant research indicates a strong relationship between lack of access to healthy food and chronic, diet-related disease. Obesity, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, and coronary heart disease are all associated with a lack of access to healthy foods.

An important source of healthy rural food access is the local grocery store. They are a vital source for nutrition and health, providing a supply of fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy and protein. In fact, the presence of grocery stores in rural areas has been shown to correlate with lower rates of obesity and nutrition-related disease. Unfortunately, these rural businesses struggle and it seems every day we hear about another store closing shop and shutting their doors.

Because the loss of a rural grocery store threatens the health of local citizens and the very existence of that community, Kansas State University and a broad range of partners are working to assist rural communities and their grocery stores. Toward that goal, we are proud to announce that on June 25-26, 2018 we will host the Sixth National Rural Grocery Summit at the Hilton Garden Inn in Manhattan, Kansas. At the Sixth National Rural Grocery Summit we will bring together store owners, citizen leaders, food suppliers, academic researchers, policy makers, and funders to talk with one another about how best to sustain this critical piece of community infrastructure and improve the health of our rural citizens.

Objectives

  • To provide the latest and best thinking about rural grocery stores and rural community sustainability
  • To offer a discussion around the latest models for providing healthy food access to rural communities
  • To provide a discussion regarding rural grocery best business practices
  • To provide rural grocery store owners and rural grocery stakeholders the opportunity to network and dialogue with one another about the significant issues and challenges they face
  • To chart a path forward for rural healthy food access