Local food initiatives, community gardens and farmer’s markets are buzzwords at the national level in discussions around healthy food strategies in urban environments. Less known is a phenomenon known as “food deserts.” These are areas where citizens must travel distances greater than what is comfortable to secure healthy, fresh food. Very small, rural communities are most vulnerable. The town grocery, a high-overhead business, closes as the community declines in population and business. Now in a food desert, low-income residents can’t easily afford travel expenses, and older populations may be physically unable to regularly travel.

Enter Cody, Nebraska. The Rural Grocery Initiative (http://www.ruralgrocery.org) at Kansas State University invited members of the Cody Circle C store to share their story of determination and success at the regional grocery summit in Manhattan, Kan., the summer of 2013.

Located at the north central border on US Highway 20, Cody is a community of 155 people with a median age of 45. In 2009, the students of Cody-Kilgore school decided to work toward a community grocery store, a vital need in their rural food desert. After many years of work and diligence, and after the construction of a 3,000-square foot, straw bale-constructed building, they took delivery of their first inventory at 6:45 a.m. on March 22, 2013.

Perseverance by stakeholders and community champions makes all things possible. Sustainability is less about the age of rallying participants and more about the cohesive drive of a community to meet critical needs. It always comes down to the work ethic of the citizens and love of one’s community. The students and citizens of Cody, Neb., didn’t set out to be a star on the White House flag, nor did they desire the spotlight at conferences; they came to fill a need in the community and enjoyed, along the way, each other’s company and camaraderie. These are the true virtues of rural community life.

Follow their progress here.

References:

Blog post by Dough McKalip, senior policy advisor for Rural Affairs at the White House Domestic Policy Council, titled Working Together to Bring Healthy Foods to Communities in Need

http://villageofcody.com/Circle_C_Market.html

McKalip, D. (2014, March 26). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://blogs.usda.gov/2014/03/26/working-together-to-bring-healthy-foods-to-communities-in-need/