Empowering communities: Grocers bring hope to rural America

All of our locations are either on or near Native American reservations

And I'm pretty proud of the fact that we've been doing business in Indian country for 120 years

RF Bowie is a fourth generation grocer owning stores in some of the smallest and poorest

communities in South Dakota. Anyone that's doing real grocery is doing it for the love of community

And it's not about the love of money by any means. It's love of community

Just to the north, you'll find Diana Hahn, owner of Super Value in Park River, North Dakota, with a population just over a thousand

Technically, census wise, they're not counted on our city limits, but they're literally across the railroad tracks, you know

Like Bowie, Hahn purchased the business from her parents. So my dad started carrying out groceries in 1954. He finally retired six years ago at the age of 80

According to the USDA there are more than 1900 counties the government considers rural Of those there were 23 counties without food retailers of any type and all of those were in rural non counties Of the 44 counties with no grocery stores 40 were rural non and four were urban non

There were 41 non-metro counties with just one food retailer and 115 with only one grocery store

Both grocers determined to provide more than just food for their communities

For some of our customers, it's their social time that they come and gather and go to the grocery store

We are the business that sponsors the ball teams. We're the businesses that help support the church bazaars

Somebody's house burns down. We're there to do it. But life isn't easy as the small town grocer

Often, creativity comes into play when it comes to keeping the shelves stocked

Han co-ops with two other stores in the region, and the buying method cuts down on waste and cost

They can get through a whole case of lettuce that you know 12 or 24 heads but they can just order six from me You know things like that So we partner with that to be able to split cases which just helps all of us turn our volumes faster

helps things stay fresher, help things not out-date, which just costs all of us money

They order in themselves. They come on separate invoices. They come on separate pallets

but get delivered all at the same time as my groceries. And then once a week, the Rad Co-op truck

delivers to those stores. And even with co-ops, the margins are still thin

Grocery is anywhere from 1% to 2% and even get lower down to a half a percent in some of the markets

So there's not a lot there by the time you get to the bottom line

Need a vacation? Who will run the store? I had so few employees that we could not take a week off to do a vacation slash business trip for the UNFI convention this winter

A convention that is centered around small grocers Even though they miles apart they know they not alone Organizations like the Royal Grocery Initiative at Kansas State University recognize the need for a community grocery store They know these stores are a primary source of jobs contribute to the local tax base

and help attract and retain residents. RGI helps connect the stores and provide the necessary tools

to make sure everyone succeeds. One thing about us retailers, I think we're used to getting kicked

in the teeth. We're used to getting knocked down. And I would say that we are probably

the independent grocer is one of the most resilient group of people that there is

A resilient group of people who care deeply about their community. If you love retail grocery, it is really more about serving community than it is about selling

food, honestly. And it's a love of serving your community and a love of keeping things good in

your community and keeping your community alive. For Shadaro News, I'm Lauren Keenan. If you want

more on this story, download the Shadaro News app or visit san.com