Wednesday, February 23, 2022
As rural areas lose grocery stores, some towns have responded by opening cooperative groceries
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| The interior of Market on the Hill in Mount Pulaski, Illinois (Investigate Midwest photo by Darrell Hoemann) |
Rural towns “have lost grocery stores while dollar-store chains have been on the rise, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The departure of food stores leaves residents, especially those in areas with high poverty rates and dwindling population, with fewer options to buy food,” Amanda Perez Pintado reports for Investigate Midwest and Report for America.
“With the closure of grocery stores, rural populations are forced to drive longer distances to purchase food. This may be a larger issue for low-income residents who are not able to afford transportation to get groceries.
In 2015, according to a USDA report, about 5 million people who lived in rural areas had to drive 10 miles or more to reach the nearest food store.”
Unfortunately, small towns like Fallsburg are going to end up with a DG and no grocery store. DG is nice in ways, but lacking greatly in the grocery department. While DG has increased the amount of groceries it caeries, it does not carry many items that a grocery store does. Produce is a prime example. So, rural residents will end up driving further for groceries or doing without certain items. Especially healthier items.
Just live on Little Debbies and frozen food!!!!
Fallsburg doesn’t have a grocery store anyways!!!
DG food is kinda limited and is good in a pinch and a decent alternative when you don’t want to or can’t get to the bigger grocery stores.
I think this is a golden opportunity for the dolgen corporation to expand the groceries and make a profitable expansion.
Just consider it a poor man’s Walmart….maybe Dolmart😄
If I had to make a suggestion though it would be to do away with the Clover Valley brand.
80% of that brand of grocery items are next level awful.
Some might say “beggars can’t be choosers”, and my response to that would be that I don’t think people are lined up begging for Clover Valley products.😄
The DG in wayne next to city hall carries produce. Nice too.
Most rural towns never had proper grocery stores – we have small general stores that carry a bit of food and hardware ran by mom and pop who are now too old and their kids don’t want that kinda work. Misleading articles like this make it sound like DG is running Kroger’s and Albertsons out of rural America. Louisa may have a grocery store but places like Blaine, Webbville, Willard, Fallsburg etc do not have access to anything and DG is the only one willing to fill the gap. No major chain is coming to these areas so I guess they expect rural America to do without.