Request for Proposals
The request for proposals has closed. Thank you to all who submitted a proposal.
The National Rural Grocery Summit is the premier networking and resource-sharing venue for independent grocers and rural food access stakeholders. This biennial summit brings together store owners, citizen leaders, food suppliers, academic researchers, healthy food access practitioners, policy makers, and funders to learn from and strategize with one another about sustaining rural grocery stores and improving rural access to healthy foods.
Summit Objectives
- Explore the connections between rural grocery operations and community vitality
- Provide rural grocery store owners and rural grocery stakeholders the opportunity to network and learn from each other
- Highlight innovative models and strategies for strengthening healthy food retail in rural communities
- Chart a path for robust rural food systems that improve the health and well-being of rural communities
Potential Topic Areas
Topics to be covered at the summit include, but are not limited to:
- Equity in rural food systems
- Innovation in rural food access (e.g. emerging grocery models, rural food distribution solutions, creative partnerships, etc.)
- Connecting local food production and rural grocery
- Effects of COVID-19 on rural grocery and rural food systems, in particular, practices implemented during COVID-19 that will continue
- Local, state, and federal policies to support rural grocery and strengthen rural food systems
- Resources (financial and informational) to support rural grocery and rural food access
- Rural grocery stores as community builders
- Rural grocery best practices including, but not limited to:
- Ways to increase sales and attract new customers
- Overcoming challenges (e.g. supply chain issues, operating costs, competition, consolidation, minimum buying requirements, labor, etc.)
- Addressing changes in shopping behaviors and consumer preferences
- Strengthening community relationships
- Building customer loyalty
- Increasing business value
- Succession planning
- E-commerce
Who should submit a proposal to the National Rural Grocery Summit?
You! A lot has happened since the last time this conference convened in 2018. We are looking for proposals from a broad range of rural grocery, healthy food access, and community vitality stakeholders. This may include, but is not limited to, grocers, practitioners, resource providers, academic researchers, policy makers, funders, and students from across the country.
What support is available to defray the cost of attending the summit?
Complimentary registration is available for up to two representatives from an individual grocery store. Presenters will receive a reduced registration rate.
Key Dates
- Presentation Proposal Submission Deadline: February 1, 2022 at 11:59 PM Central
- Selected Presenter Notification: Mid-March, 2022
- Conference: June 20-21, 2022
Questions?
To learn more about the Rural Grocery Initiative, please visit www.ruralgrocery.org. For additional questions about the initiative or the summit, please contact us at rgi@ksu.edu.