The deadline is later this month for grocery stores and small food processors in rural Iowa to apply for large state grants to help make themselves more marketable to consumers.
Cynthia Farmer, senior policy associate at the Center for Rural Affairs, says the grants are for up to $25,000 each, which could be especially beneficial for small-town groceries.
“They might be able to focus on updating some of their online ordering, or maybe invest in that online ordering option for folks who are purchasing in their local communities,” Farmer says, “or maybe home delivery, or creating a cooperative purchasing agreement with the food processors local to them, or things like upgrading technology.”
Farmer says rural grocery stores are the backbone of many Iowa communities, but they’re facing a host of significant challenges. Those include supply chain troubles, food price inflation, and competition from big box super-stores in nearby towns.
“Those folks want to be competitive, but also narrowing the gap for how long people have to drive to get their groceries, and having that access of good quality, healthy and nutritious food,” Farmer says. “Sometimes folks don’t even have a car.”
The Rural Innovation Grant Program is being offered by the Iowa Economic Development Authority and applications have to be submitted by October 25th. Farmer says a 50-percent cash match is required to take part, so for a rural grocer to get a $25,000 grant, they’ll have to put up at least $12,500.
“This financial investment can help those small business owners overcome those financial burdens and help them reinvest in their local communities,” Farmer says. “It’s necessary for the lifeline of all of the different rural communities out across the state of Iowa.”
The program has $200,000 allotted. To qualify, applicants must be located and incorporated or authorized to do business in Iowa, operate in a community of 20,000 or fewer people, and not be in a community contiguous to a city with a population of 40,000 or greater.