“Strengthening Our Stores, Strengthening Our Communities”
The Fourth National Rural Grocery Summit
Manhattan, Kansas
June 9-10, 2014
Hilton Garden Inn

Day 1

8:00 – 9:00 a.m. Registration / Check-in – Conference Center Preconvene

9:00 – 10:30 a.m. Welcome / Opening Keynote – Big Basin/Kaw Nation

Welcome, Dr. David Procter, Director, Center for Engagement and Community Development, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
Opening Keynote, “How Can Rural Groceries Help Build Local Food Economies?” Ken Meter, President, Crossroads Resource Center, Minneapolis, MN

10:45 – Noon Breakout Sessions

#1: Improving the Grocery Bottom Line: Energy Efficiency - McDowell

Moderator: Dan Kahl, Center for Engagement and Community Development, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS

“The Kansas Corporation Commission’s Energy Program for Rural Grocery Stores,” Ryan Freed and Trayce Heidner, Kansas Corporation Commission, Topeka, KS
“How $mart,” Brian Dreiling, Midwest Energy, Hays,

#2: Bringing Groceries to Food Deserts: Innovative Models of Grocery Operation–Cooperatives - Tuttle

Moderator: Myles Alexander, Center for Engagement and Community Development, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS

“Rural Food the Co-op Way Option,” Laurel Jones and Patricia Patrie, Bowdon Community Cooperative, Bowdon, ND
“Succession Planning-Selling Your Store to Your Employees,” Daniel Wallace, Costal Enterprises, Inc., Portland, ME

#3: Food Deserts: Promoting Healthy Food Choices - Alcove

Moderator: Ginny Barnard, K-State Research and Extension, Riley County Office, Manhattan, KS

“Creating a Sustainable Model of Healthy Eating in a Community,” Kevin Chamberlain, NUVAL, LLC, Chicago, IL
“Shopper Marketing Nutrition Interventions,” Collin Payne, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM
“Small Food Stores in Rural Communities,” Courtney Pinard, Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition, Omaha, NE

Noon – 1:30 p.m. Lunch / Keynote – Big Basin/Kaw Nation

Luncheon Keynote: “The Little Grocery That Could – It’s the Power of Small,” Mark Winne, Food Systems Author, Santa Fe, NM

1:30 – 2:45 p.m. Breakout Sessions

#4: Bringing Groceries to Food Deserts: Grocery Operations as Food Hub - Tuttle

Moderator: Kathy Nyquist, New Venture Advisors, LLC, Chicago, IL

“Northeast Kansas ‘Food Hub’ Feasibility Study: Results and Opportunities for Kansas Rural Grocery Stores,” Eileen Horn, Douglas County Sustainability Coordinator, Lawrence, KS
“Growing Food Connections through Vertical Integration of Business Models,” (Mobile Grocery Stores) Scott Smith, Healthy Community
Store Initiative, Tulsa, OK
Tim White, Hiawatha Thriftway, Hiawatha, KS

#5: Improving the Grocery Bottom Line: Incorporating Local Produce and Products - McDowell

Moderator: Donita Whitney-Bammerlin, Department of Management, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS

“California Healthy Stores Initiative,” Reyna Villalobos, Central California Regional Obesity Prevention Program, Tulare, CA
“Opportunities, Challenges, and Myths: Selling Locally Grown Food in Your Grocery Store,” Greg Schweser and Kathryn Draeger, University of Minnesota Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships, St. Paul, MN
“’From the Land of Kansas’: Selling Kansas’ Products in Our Rural Grocery Stores,” Annarose Hart, Kansas Department of Agriculture, Topeka, KS

#6: Community Organizing for Grocery Stores and Rural Food Access - Alcove

Moderator: Myles Alexander, Center for Engagement and Community Development, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS

“Food Education Agriculture Solutions Together (FEAST),” Sharon Thornberry and Spencer Masterson, Oregon Food Bank, Portland, OR
“Brown County, KS, FEAST Case Study,” Cole Cottin, Kansas Rural Center, Whiting, KS

2:45 – 3:00 p.m. Break

3:00 – 4:30 p.m. Breakout Sessions

#7: Improving the Bottom Line: Grocery Owners Best Grocery Ideas - McDowell

Moderator: Jennifer Butler, Center for Engagement and Community Development, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS

“How Rural Stores Can Improve Sales,” Hannah Miller, Agricultural Economics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
“Improving Our Bottom Line: A Panel Discussion with Rural Grocery Owners:”
- Increasing Sales by Partnering with Other Local Food Buyers, Cuba Cash Store, Dale Huncovsky, Cuba, KS
- Increasing Sales through Increased Community Support, Hometown Market, Elaine Riley, Minneola, KS
- Increasing Sales, Floyd’s Market, Roger Floyd, Sedan, KS
- Increasing Sales, Central Market, Steve Anderson, Hebron, NE

#8: Tool Kits for Grocery Owners – Tuttle

Moderator: Julie Mettenburg, Kansas Rural Center, Whiting, KS

“The Rural Grocery Toolkit,” Dan Kahl, Center for Engagement and Community Development, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS; Cole Cottin, Kansas Rural Center, Whiting, KS; Leslie Manning, River Valley District, KSRE, Clay Center, KS
“Healthy Food Access Portal,” Pat Smith, The Reinvestment Fund, Philadelphia, PA

#9: National Financing Rural Food Retail – Alcove

Moderator: James Foster, Department of Commerce, Colby, KS

“Loans to Bring New Stores to High Need Areas,” Matt Nordmann, IFF, St. Louis, MO
"Healthy Food Financing: Opportunities for Rural Grocers," Miriam Manon, The Food Trust, Philadelphia, PA
“USDA Assistance for Rural Grocery Stores,” Randy Snider, Iola, KS and David Kramer, Topeka, KS, USDA Rural Development

Dinner Break (on your own)

7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Reception: Flint Hills Discovery Center – Roof Top Terrace

“It was the Best of Times; It was the Worst of Times”

This reception will be held at the Flint Hills Discovery Center (1/2 block from the Hilton Garden Inn). It’s a reception to gather, network, and enjoy one another’s company. We will also hear from store owners about their very best experiences running a grocery store and hear horror stories as well. It will be a fun-filled evening.

Day 2

7:30 – 8:00 a.m. Light Continental Breakfast (pastries, fruit, juice, coffee)

8:00 – 9:00 a.m. Small Group Discussions

We have set aside this morning hour for folks to get together for an extended discussion on topics that perhaps need a little more in-depth discussion. This is time to ask questions, mobilize for action, or just have some time to talk. We have identified four topic areas and discussion leaders. There will also be an opportunity to identify a topic we don’t have listed – an opportunity for you to suggest a topic that needs more discussion. Our four topic areas are:

Rural Grocery Toolkit: Dan Kahl, Kansas State University – McDowell. The Rural Grocery Tool Kit is a collection of resources compiled for two primary audiences; those interested in establishing a grocery store, and existing small grocery store owners. This session will walk through the compiled resources and describe how to find and utilize the resources in the kit.
FEAST: Sharon Thornberry, Oregon Food Bank - Tuttle. FEAST is a community organizing process that allows participants to engage in an informed and facilitated discussion about food, education and agriculture in their community and begin to work toward solutions together to help build a healthier, more equitable and more resilient local food system.
Food Policy Councils: Mark Winne, Author – Alcove. Food policy councils have grown substantially in numbers over the past few years, now reaching at least 250 across North America. This session will consider how this movement, both collectively and individually, can be leveraged to create a more favorable policy environment, particularly at the local and state levels of government, for food system change.
Your Store’s Impact on the Local Community: Steven Smethers and Barbara DeSanto, Kansas State University – Big Basin. Discussion about all the different ways rural grocery stores impact their town.

9:15 – 10:30 a.m. Breakout Sessions

#10: Food Deserts: Measuring the Impacts - McDowell

Moderator: Donna Schenck-Hamlin, K-State Libraries, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS

“Measuring the Impact of Food Deserts and Food Balance in Public Health in Rural America,” Mari Gallagher, Mari Gallagher Research and Consulting, Chicago, IL

#11: Bringing Groceries to Food Deserts: Newly Opened Rural Grocery Stores: Challenges and Lessons Learned - Tuttle

Moderator: Jennifer Butler, Center for Engagement and Community Development, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS

“Chapman Food Mart,” Doug Thompson, Chapman, KS
“Tyler’s Market,” Connie Mefford, Pilot Grove, MO

#12: Improving Your Bottom Line: Customer Service - Alcove

Moderator: Ron Wilson, Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development, Manhattan, KS

“Building Community Support through Customer Service and Effective Grocery Operations,” Doug Cunningham, Affiliated Foods Midwest, Norfolk, NE
“Strengthening Business through Effective Customer Service,” Mary Ann Riederer, Washburn University, Kansas Small Business Development Council in Glacial Hills, Topeka, KS

10:30 – 10:45 a.m. Break

10:45 a.m. – Noon Breakout Sessions

#13: Using Policy to Improve Rural Food Access - McDowell

Moderator: Myles Alexander, Center for Engagement and Community Development, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS

“Using Policy Tools to Support Rural Grocery Stores,” Christine Fry, ChangeLab Solutions, Oakland, CA
“Using Policy to Promote Food Access in Rural Communities,” Natasha Frost, Public Health Law Center, St. Paul, MN and Ashley Jones Wisner, KC Healthy Kids, Kansas City, KS

#14: Financing Rural Food Retail - Tuttle

Moderator: Dan Kahl, Center for Engagement and Community Development, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS

“SBA Finance Options for Grocers,” Vanessa Klein, U.S. Small Business Administration, Wichita, KS
“NetWork Kansas Financing of Small Business,” Imagene Harris, Topeka, KS
“Community Funding: Rural Grocery Stores like IKE!” Josh Ney, Kansas Securities Commissioner, Office of the Kansas Securities Commissioner, Topeka, KS

#15: Marketing Your Store via Social Media - Alcove

Moderator: Annarose Hart, Kansas Department of Agriculture, Topeka, KS

“Marketing your Store After the Loss of the Local Newspaper,” Steve Smethers and Barbara DeSanto, A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communications, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
“From the Land of Kansas,” Stacy Mayo, Kansas Department of Agriculture, Topeka, KS
“Is Social Media a Waste of My Time?” Cody Heitschmidt, ESSDAK, Hutchinson, KS

Concourse Table #1 (information available both days of the summit)

“Mapping Food Deserts via GIS,” Pat Rissler, Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS

Concourse Table #2 (information available both days of the summit)

“Teatime to Tailgates,” Jane Marshall, College of Human Ecology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS

12:15-1:00 p.m. Closing – Big Basin

Closing Keynote: “What We’ve Accomplished and What We Need to Accomplish with the Rural Grocery Initiative,” David Procter, Director, Center for Engagement and Community Development, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS

Adjourn