K-State Extension - Rural Grocery Initiative

The Kansas Healthy Food Initiative team is excited to announce the recipients of our third round of Predevelopment Technical Assistance Grants! Congratulations to the following:
⭐ Grass Roots Institute (Atwood)
⭐ Kanbe's Markets (Wichita)
⭐ Sheridan County Community Foundation (Northwest Kansas)
⭐ Stafford County Economic Development, Inc. (Macksville)
⭐ United Way of Harvey and Marion Counties (Hesston)

You can learn more about the grant recipients here: https://kansashealthyfood.org/programdetails/assistance/2026-predevelopment-ta-grant-recipients.html

Our fourth round of this grant program will open in August 2026 with a deadline of September 25, 2026.

This financial assistance is geared toward projects that are still in early concept or predevelopment stages and are not yet ready for full implementation. Project activities include but are not limited to: market or feasibility research, architectural design assistance or site planning, community assessments and engagement, business planning, legal counsel, etc.

It's been one month since we gathered in Fargo for the National Rural Grocery Summit, and today our team received a picture that puts a whole new meaning to the word "summit." 🏔️ Check out this incredible image of one of our Summit bags being used to carry food up Denali!

Interested in applying for America's Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) Food Access and Retail Expansion (FARE) Fund Grant and Technical Assistance funding cycle? Reinvestment Fund will host an informational webinar at 1:30 PM Central Time on Wednesday, May 27th to provide potential applicants with an overview of the RFA, the application processes, information on how to navigate the online submission process, and to answer questions about the program. Learn more and find the link to register for the webinar here: https://www.investinginfood.com/fare-fund-2026/.

2026 FARE Fund | America's Healthy Food Financing Initiative The HFFI Food Access and Retail Expansion Fund (HFFI FARE Fund) is a new program under the expanded America’s Healthy Food Financing Initiative.

We were excited to present Lori Capouch with our Grocery Champion of the Year Award at the 2026 National Rural Grocery Summit!

Her nominator wrote: "Lori’s work has directly strengthened rural grocery viability through leadership, coalition-building, and practical innovation grounded in the realities of rural communities. For more than 30 years, she has served as a behind-the-scenes cooperative development champion who travels to small towns to help address quality-of-life challenges—especially food access." You can learn more about Lori here: https://www.ruralgrocery.org/summit/awards/

Congratulations, Lori, and thank you for all you have done for rural grocers!

NDAREC & U of MN Extension Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships

It is hard to believe it has already been two weeks since we gathered for the 2026 National Rural Grocery Summit! Over 300 attendees from 42 states, Washington, D.C., and Canada convened in Fargo to connect around strengthening rural grocery. With four keynotes, 24 breakout session presentations, an exhibitor fair, and four tours of innovative rural grocery and food access sites in North Dakota and Minnesota, attendees learned from each other about innovative models and strategies for strengthening healthy food retail in rural communities. View some snapshots from the event below and check out even more photos from the Summit here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/hjfDtt991iGKDS2B7
👇 Share your favorite Summit memory with us in the comments below!

U of MN Extension Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships & NDAREC

We were excited to present Emily and Kaden Roush, owners of Main Street Mercantile in Lebanon, Kansas, with our Rural Grocer of the Year Award at the 2026 National Rural Grocery Summit!

Their nominator wrote: "Emily and Kaden Roush purchased the local grocery store in 2023 and utilized their creative community-building, grant writing, and fundraising skills to completely remodel and reopen the store in a small town of 181. Main Street Mercantile offers a full-service grocery store, including butcher counter, fresh produce, staple items, and an abundance of locally grown and processed meats. Emily and Kaden provide critical jobs for local residents and truly create a community feel in their store." You can learn more about them here: https://www.ruralgrocery.org/summit/awards/

Congratulations, Emily and Kaden, and thank you for all you do as rural grocers!

Thank you Co-op Partners Warehouse for partnering with us to nourish our National Rural Grocery Summit attendees. We know that attendees enjoyed getting a taste of the delicious products you carry!

Yesterday we held four pre-conference tours across Minnesota and North Dakota as part of the 2026 National Rural Grocery Summit! Check out these pictures from some of the attendees who visited innovative rural grocery and food access sites across the two states. We're so excited to be officially kicking the Summit off with our opening plenary session this morning!

📢 Grant Opportunity! The HFFI FARE Fund is Now Accepting Grant and Technical Assistance Applications.

Are you working to expand access to healthy foods for retail sale in your community? The Healthy Food Financing Initiative Food Access and Retail Expansion Fund (HFFI FARE Fund) is offering grants and technical assistance to support food retailers and post-harvest food retail supply chain enterprises working to improve healthy food access in underserved areas.

Learn more and apply here:

2026 FARE Fund | America's Healthy Food Financing Initiative The HFFI Food Access and Retail Expansion Fund (HFFI FARE Fund) is a new program under the expanded America’s Healthy Food Financing Initiative.

We are excited to present the Rural Grocer of the Year Award at the 2026 National Rural Grocery Summit! Across the board, grocers deserve recognition and thanks for all they do for our communities. This award recognizes independent rural grocers who have demonstrated excellence in community engagement, innovation, customer service, and more. We are excited to announce the following individuals as our three finalists for this award:
⭐ Bonnie Maas, Bonnies Hometown Grocery
⭐ Meta Jo Riseling, Walsh Community Grocery Store
⭐ Emily and Kaden Roush, Main Street Mercantile

Read about our award finalists here: https://ruralgrocery.org/learn/rural-grocery-spotlight/rural-grocer-of-the-year-finalists.html

Join us for the evening reception on Wednesday, May 6th as we announce the winner of this award at the Summit!