Rural Grocery Initiative

Rural Grocery Initiative RGI aims to sustain locally-owned rural groceries to enhance community vitality & access to healthy food.

Welcome to the official Kansas State University Rural Grocery Initiative Facebook account! We encourage thoughtful discussion and interaction relevant to the purpose of the page. The purpose of Kansas State University social media pages is limited to focusing on the university's mission, goals, and programs. Content must be relevant to the topic discussed, relevant to this particular page, and to the point. Content that is excessively long or repetitive is subject to removal. Content that is profane, threatening, obscene, a violation of intellectual property rights or privacy laws, creating a security or privacy risk, spam, defamatory, infringing on another person's rights, commercial advertising by a third party, otherwise violates local, county, state or federal laws, or incites or solicits illegal conduct or violence, is prohibited. By posting content to the site, you represent that you own or otherwise have all the rights necessary to lawfully use that content and/or that the use of the content is permitted by fair use, as applicable. The university reserves the right to remove any material for nonconformity with this policy. Users acknowledge that the security of the site cannot be guaranteed, that use of the site is voluntary, and assume the risks associated with such use, releasing and holding harmless the university from any and all claims related thereto. The university does not necessarily endorse, support, agree with, or verify the validity of the content shared on its social media sites by users. The appearance of comments, external hyperlinks, or any information contained within "follows", "likes", "retweets" and similar actions on social media pages do not necessarily constitute endorsement or support by the university. If you have questions, please contact socialmedia@k-state.edu.

Are you interested in applying for the Kansas Healthy Food Initiative's Predevelopment Technical Assistance Grant? If so...
02/11/2026

Are you interested in applying for the Kansas Healthy Food Initiative's Predevelopment Technical Assistance Grant? If so, you may want to attend our open office hours to ask questions about your project idea and eligibility. We are hosting two more office hours before the application deadline of February 27th. Register for the Zoom link to attend our optional office hours from 11 AM to 12 PM Central Time on February 12th and February 26th here: https://ksu.zoom.us/meeting/register/MJJpk_yKTbeqnySNli0r3A

Join us for one of four pre-conference rural grocery tours ahead of the 2026 National Rural Grocery Summit! 🚌🛒 From tour...
02/06/2026

Join us for one of four pre-conference rural grocery tours ahead of the 2026 National Rural Grocery Summit! 🚌🛒 From touring a unique self-serve grocery store with a 24-hour model to visiting one of the members of the innovative Rural Access Distribution (RAD) Cooperative, there is so much to see while you are in the area. Learn more about each of the four tour options here: https://www.ruralgrocery.org/summit/agenda/

*Note: If you want to join us for a tour, you must sign up when registering for the Summit here: https://www.ruralgrocery.org/summit/register/

Did you know we have a rural grocery policy tracker? This resource is intended to help stakeholders stay informed of rec...
02/02/2026

Did you know we have a rural grocery policy tracker? This resource is intended to help stakeholders stay informed of recently proposed or enacted legislation impacting rural grocers and their communities. Learn more and access the tracker at https://www.ruralgrocery.org/learn/policy-tracker/

Note: The Rural Grocery Initiative does not advocate for or against nor endorse any policy listed in this tracker.

Each month, our team highlights a rural grocery store. This month, we are excited to highlight Greg's Market in Exeter, ...
01/30/2026

Each month, our team highlights a rural grocery store. This month, we are excited to highlight Greg's Market in Exeter, Nebraska! This store was purchased by a group of community investors in 2020 who sought to keep the store open. Recently, the investors have worked to transition the store to a 24/7 model, with more than 10% of the community investing in the membership. Read highlights from our interview conducted after we visited the store to learn more about the store's experience with this new model: https://www.ruralgrocery.org/learn/rural-grocery-spotlight/gregs-market.html

Curious about our Kansas Healthy Food Initiative Predevelopment Technical Assistance Grant Program? Check out this news ...
01/29/2026

Curious about our Kansas Healthy Food Initiative Predevelopment Technical Assistance Grant Program? Check out this news story published today to learn more about it and the nine projects across the state of Kansas that have already received funding: https://ksre-learn.com/locally-grown-food-grants

We are currently accepting applications for our third round of funding with a deadline of February 27, 2026!

The Kansas Healthy Food Initiative has opened applications for a grant program that awarded more than one quarter of a million dollars last year to support local and regional food systems throughout the state.

The nomination deadline is approaching for the 2026 Rural Grocer of the Year and Grocery Champion of the Year Awards! Aw...
01/26/2026

The nomination deadline is approaching for the 2026 Rural Grocer of the Year and Grocery Champion of the Year Awards! Awards will be presented at the 2026 National Rural Grocery Summit in Fargo, ND in May. Nominations are due by January 31, 2026. Self-nominations are allowed. Learn more here: https://www.ruralgrocery.org/summit/awards/

🚨Summit Registration Open 🚨Registration is officially OPEN for the 2026 National Rural Grocery Summit in Fargo, ND from ...
01/22/2026

🚨Summit Registration Open 🚨

Registration is officially OPEN for the 2026 National Rural Grocery Summit in Fargo, ND from May 5-7!

Highlights include:
🛒 Registration is free to grocers (up to two per store) until March 15th,
🗣️ Multiple keynotes from thought leaders in rural grocery,
🚌 Optional tours featuring innovative rural grocery models in Minnesota and North Dakota,
🤝 Countless networking opportunities,
➕ And more!

Learn more and register here by March 15th to secure early bird pricing: https://www.ruralgrocery.org/summit/register/

🚨Now Accepting Applications 🚨The Kansas Healthy Food Initiative is offering a third round of Predevelopment Technical As...
01/21/2026

🚨Now Accepting Applications 🚨

The Kansas Healthy Food Initiative is offering a third round of Predevelopment Technical Assistance Grants with a deadline of February 27, 2026! This grant program provides support to organizations and businesses that are planning projects to expand healthy food access at the retail level. You can learn more about the grant program, review the updated guidelines, read about previous grant recipients, and sign up for our new office hours to ask questions by visiting https://www.kansashealthyfood.org/programdetails/assistance/.

🚨Last Chance to Apply: If you are interested in applying to participate in our rural grocery peer groups this year, don'...
01/18/2026

🚨Last Chance to Apply: If you are interested in applying to participate in our rural grocery peer groups this year, don't forget to submit your application by tomorrow, January 19th!

As a previous peer group participant shared, these peer groups "are a unique and needed opportunity for rural grocers. Networking with those that are facing the same challenges, struggles, achievements, and joy helps us all better provide for the communities we serve."

Learn more and apply today at https://www.ruralgrocery.org/support/peer-group.html

In recognition of K-State's commitment to partnering with Kansas communities, the university is one of more than 200 to ...
01/14/2026

In recognition of K-State's commitment to partnering with Kansas communities, the university is one of more than 200 to receive the Carnegie Foundation's Community Engagement Classification in 2026. Check out this article published today which highlights how K-State engages with Kansas communities, including through our Rural Grocery Initiative work which supports rural grocery stores and rural food access:

In recognition of the university's commitment to partnering with and sharing knowledge and expertise with Kansas communities, K-State is one of more than 200 universities to receive the Carnegie Foundation's Community Engagement Classification in 2026.

Did you know we facilitate rural grocery peer groups to help foster a stronger, more connected rural grocery community? ...
01/12/2026

Did you know we facilitate rural grocery peer groups to help foster a stronger, more connected rural grocery community? One of our 2025 participants shared: "Rural grocery peer groups remind us that community thrives when local stores support each other as much as they serve their towns."

If you are interested in participating in our 2026 peer groups, visit https://www.ruralgrocery.org/support/peer-group.html to sign up by January 19th!

The Iowa Independent Grocer Network and Spring Webinar Series are launching in the new year! These webinars will offer o...
01/06/2026

The Iowa Independent Grocer Network and Spring Webinar Series are launching in the new year! These webinars will offer opportunities for professional development and networking centered on key topics for independent grocers. Register at https://go.iastate.edu/FVQGUH to join our colleagues in Iowa on January 20th for the Iowa Independent Grocer Network launch, discover the new grocery store audit tool, and learn how independent grocers can apply for technical assistance. Dates and links to register for additional webinars can be viewed on the graphic.

Address

Manhattan, KS
66506

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

(785) 532-6868

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