Agenda

Rural Grocery Initiative

The 2024 National Rural Grocery Summit program can be viewed here (pdf).

Presentations from the 2024 National Rural Grocery Summit are linked in the agenda below.

Monday, June 24
Welcome and Opening Keynote John Ross, President & CEO, IGA Inc. The Changing Landscape of Grocery and How Independent Grocery is Positioned to Keep Up
Breakout Session #1
Track A: Rural Grocery Best Practices	Track B: Innovation		Track C: Partnerships & Community		Track D: Funding & Policy	Track E: Increasing Healthy & Local Food Access
Marketing Strategies to Drive Sales Growth Performance for Any Size Store Jeanie Wells, Columinate and Mighty Community Markets; Rebecca Torpie, Columinate and Briar Patch Co-op	10 years of grocery access solutions using a mix of online, mobile, and brick-and-mortar stores throughout Stark County, Ohio Tom Phillips, StarkFresh Farm Stop: A Novel Retail Store Model to Grow Local Food Economies Laura Matney, Argus Farm Stop		The What and the Why of Food Co-ops: An Introduction to the Co-op Model Faye Mack, Food Co-op Initiative		If you can't beat 'em, don't play by their rules: Understanding big grocery's weaknesses Alan Lewis, Natural Grocers Dollar stores and the food environment: Consumer perceptions and policy opportunities Karen Gardner, Center for Science in the Public Interest	Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Overview Anna Adams and Andrew O'Connor, USDA Food and Nutrition Service SNAP Online in Rural America Brielle Underwood and Gabrielle Rumney, National Grocers Association
Lunch and Keynote Will McIntee, Director of Strategic Engagement, White House Office of Public Engagement White House Update on National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health
Networking, Exhibitor, and Poster Session Visit with conference sponsors and exhibitors and learn about their offerings to support rural grocery. Poster Presenters: A place to be fed is a short documentary film detailing the journey of a man and his efforts to create a place of hope, healing, and restoration to food desert communities, Billy Ivey, Small Stories Studio Assisting Rural Grocers: Building Business Resiliency, Efficiency, and Profitability, Zachary Paige, University of Minnesota Extension Building Equity in Rural Montana Food Systems through Rural Grocery Stores as Local Food Access Points, Maura Henn, National Center for Appropriate Technology Carver Jones Market — a grocery store concept intended to become a self-sustaining and replicable model — a place of hope, healing, and restoration for food desert communities, James Harris, Carver Jones Market Local Sourcing Innovation in Independent and Locally-Owned Groceries, Jacob Miller-Klugesherz, Rural Grocery Initiative and Abby Long, USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Piloting a SNAP Incentive Program in Rural Communities and Small Grocers, Codie Robinson, Baylor University Using Hyper Local Hunger & Market Data to Form Strategies That Increase Good Grocer Entry, Healthy Food Access, & Grocer Sales & Sustainability in Urban & Rural Food Deserts, Mari Gallagher, Mari Gallagher Research & Consulting Group (MG)
Breakout Session #2
Track A: Rural Grocery Best Practices		Track B: Innovation		Track C: Partnerships & Community	Track D: Funding & Policy	Track E: Increasing Healthy & Local Food Access
Reduce Operational Costs and Increase Profit through Benchmarking and Upgrading Your Store(s) Courtney Dragiff, Ratio Institute		Rise Community Market: Difficulties and successes in creating a community-owned grocery store in a rural food desert Sean Park, Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs; Steven Tarver, Rise Community Market; John Shadowens, University of Illinois Extension		Lessons Learned in Developing Rural and Urban Food Systems in the Black Belt of Alabama Dr. Raymon Shange, Dr. Franklin Quarcoo, and Dr. Kristin Woods, Carver Integrative Sustainability Center at Tuskegee University Link to Video of Presentation	Using State Industrial Policy Power to Shape Markets & Tackle Food Deserts Erion Malasi, Economic Security Project Unlocking Growth: Incentives for Cities to Attract Grocers to Rural Markets Elliott Cook, Retail Strategies	What's Fresh with GusNIP: A Retailer Perspective on Double Up Food Bucks Rachel Hoh, Fair Food Network; Vanessa Wielenga, No More Empty Pots; and Dr. Lisa Franzen-Castle, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Breakout Session #3
Track A: Rural Grocery Best Practices		Track B: Innovation		Track C: Partnerships & Community	Track D: Funding & Policy	Track E: Increasing Healthy & Local Food Access
Interpreting Financial Statements to Make Better Business Decisions Joel Harper and Gene Holland, Small Business Technology Development Center of North Carolina		Rural Grocery Development and Nutrition Incentives in the Four Corners Jess T. Church, MS, RD, CommonSpirit Health; Jordan Duncan, Durango Natural Foods Co-op; Lonni Byrd, Nourish Colorado; and Olivia Muskett, Community Outreach and Patient Empowerment		Engaging Communities through the Cooperative Process Increases Community Vitality Cindy Houlden, Nebraska Cooperative Development Center; Marilyn Logan, The Marmaton Market	Grants as a Financial Resource: Opportunities, Benefits, Challenges, and Strategies for Innovation in Rural Food Access Dr. Kara Newby, Auburn University Hunger Solutions Institute; Jimmy Wright, Wright’s Market; Gray Harris, USDA Rural Development; Kate Fitzgerald, USDA Marketing and Regulatory Programs	Food is Medicine: Implications and Opportunities for Rural Grocery Karen Shore, Upstream Strategies Data-Supported Policy Recommendations for USDA Food Insecurity-Related Programs Jillian Morrison and Natalie Minton, University of Mississippi; Dr. Kara Woods, Alcorn State University Supplemental Links from Presenters: Data-Supported Policy Recommendations for USDA Food Insecurity-Related Programs USDA Food Insecurity Programs: Barriers & Policy Recommendations
Documentary Screenings and Panel Discussion Highlighting Independent Grocery Operators through Visual Storytelling Featuring: Tom Mulholland, Mulholland Grocery; James Harris, Carver Jones Market; Billy Ivey, Small Stories Studio Moderator: Mari Gallagher, Mari Gallagher Research and Consulting Group Attend this screening of two short documentaries highlighting the importance of independent grocery stores, followed by a brief Q&A session with the films’ featured grocers and their partners. “They Came from All Over” highlights the important role small businesses play within their local communities. A love letter to small businesses everywhere, the film follows grocery store owner, Tom Mulholland, as he confronts the possibility of losing his family business and the impact it can have on his small Iowa town. “a place to be fed” is a short film that shares the story of former grocery executive, James Harris, and his journey to create a self-sustaining and replicable place of hope, healing, and restoration for food desert communities. The film shines a light on our universal need for healthy food, and a place to call our own.

Tuesday, June 25
Award Ceremony & Opening Session
Breakout Session #4
Track A: Rural Grocery Best Practices	Track B: Innovation	Track C: Partnerships & Community	Track D: Funding & Policy	Track E: Increasing Healthy & Local Food Access
Wholesale Grocery Partnerships in Alabama Ellie Taylor, Alabama Grocers Association; Jay Mitchell, Mitchell Grocery Corporation; Brian Butcher, Piggly Wiggly; and Gerry D'Alessandro, Fresh Value LLC	Converting your store to a co-op: A viable path for longterm success Faye Mack, Food Co-op Initiative; Stuart Reid, The Co-op Consultant; Nicole Borner, Montana Cooperative Development Center	Non-profit Office of Rural Health Steps Up to Streamline State Efforts for Rural Courtney Watson and Paola Gutierrez, South Carolina Office of Rural Health	Making the Case: How to Demonstrate Inadequate and Inequitable Food Access Using Reinvestment Fund’s Limited Supermarket Access (LSA) Analysis Michelle Schmitt, Reinvestment Fund	Innovation in partnerships: Understanding existing practices on sourcing local Dr. Courtney Long and Lisa Bates, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Farmers' Perspectives of a Digital App to Build Direct to Retail Sales Channels in Rural Areas Audrey Thomas, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Breakout Session #5
Track A: Rural Grocery Best Practices	Track B: Innovation	Track C: Partnerships & Community	Track D: Funding & Policy	Track E: Increasing Healthy & Local Food Access
Data-Driven Decision-making to Open a Rural Grocery Store Elliott Olson, Dakota Worldwide Rural Grocery Profit Simulator Duane Johnson, Iowa State University Extension	Leveraging Non-profit Relationships to Increase Business Chelsea Matzen, National Grocers Association Foundation; Jon Henry, Jon Henry General Store; Aaron "AJ" Johnson, Oasis Fresh Market; Jimmy Wright, Wright Food Solutions	Grow Your Food Business Ecosystem Deb Brown, SaveYour.Town Community Building through Cooperation and Cooperatives Lyndsay Gutierrez and Nicole Borner, Montana Cooperative Development Center	How Healthy Food Financing Initiatives Can Leverage Data-Driven Strategies to Support Equitable Rural Food Access Marisol Zavaleta Martin and Rita Ouimet, The Food Trust Bringing Healthy Foods Closer to Home: An Alabama Solution to Reverse Childhood Health Trends Rhonda Mann, VOICES for Alabama’s Children	Building a Robust and Healthy Farmer/Retailer Relationship Mark Mulcahy, Organic Options and Columinate
Lunch and Closing Keynote Panel: Rural grocer perspectives on boldly serving their communities Featuring: Duane Legg, Legacy Foods Market & Bakery; Marquitrice Manghum, Farmacy Marketplace; Jenny Osner, Hired Man’s Grocery & Grill; Eric Simpson, West Georgia Farmer's Cooperative Moderator: Chelsea Matzen, National Grocers Association Foundation
Tours Option A: East Alabama Tour: Visit one of Alabama's oldest grocery stores in Alabama's Black Belt. Carmack's Grocery is a local, family-owned and operated grocery store in Macon County, Alabama. Operating out of the same location since the early 1900s, Carmack's has established presence, credibility, and knowledge of the local market. They consistently provide a family-friendly atmosphere with low prices and a variety of fresh produce, fresh cuts of meat, and grocery items. Check out innovative agricultural practices and Farm to Table activities happening at Alabama's land-grant university. The Food U program at Auburn University immerses students in the food system by linking research, teaching, and extension projects with on-campus food production. Students employed in the FoodU program cross-train at four venues across campus including AU Aquaponics Greenhouses, AU Vertical Farms, AU Transformation Garden Raised Beds, and the Rane Culinary Science Center Rooftop Garden. Each of these venues provides students with experience growing fresh produce using differing technologies. Produce from FoodU goes directly to Auburn University Campus Dining venues and partner restaurants, including Ariccia Cucina and 1856 Culinary Residence. Option B: West Alabama Tour: Visit a variety of food outlets in some of the most rural areas in West Alabama. From co-ops to farmers markets and even farm to table restaurants, West Alabama's local and regional food system are the heart of their vibrant communities. This field trip will feature a few stops in rural Alabama towns to check out a variety of farm to consumer activities. One stop will feature Auburn University's Rural Studio, an off-campus design-build program, rooted in Hale County and part of the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture. Rural Studio's mission is to educate students and conduct research on sustainable, healthful rural living. Tour stops will also include community and economic development projects in Greensboro, including Project Horseshoe Farm, the Greensboro Farmer’s Market, and The Stable coffee pub.