WAHOO, Neb (KMTV) — At the corner of 5th and Beech in Wahoo is a sight you can see in many small towns.
The old Wahoo Super grocery, “The Hometown Grocer” empty and out of business.
“Rural grocery stores have faced significant challenges for the last three decades. From low profit margins, aging facilities and changes in the food retail market,” said Carlie Jonas, a policy associate for the Center for Rural Affairs.
The Center for Rural affairs, directed by the legislature, has been looking into small town grocers and rural food access.
The study found our local grocers are in a dire situation.
“Between 2016 and 2021 the number of independent grocery stores in rural parts of the state decreased by 30% and more have closed every year since then and more are at risk of closing,” said Jonas.
The study found that in some of Nebraska’s most rural communities ,the closest grocery store could be up to 80 miles away.
These stores aren’t being pushed out on their own though.
“We found that when a dollar store opens up in a community independent grocery stores are almost three times as likely to close after that,” said Jonas.
These dollar stores are swamping small towns across the state.
In my hometown of Minden the population is only just over 3000 people but the town has not one, but two different Dollar General Stores.
Dollar tree and Dollar General both plan on opening more than 1300 new locations this year alone with the lions share of those stores being built in rural communities.
The study wasn’t just focused on the problems but solutions as well.
One significant barrier for small grocers are minimum wholesale requirements.
Whole sellers need grocers to order a minimum amount of product to get access to wholesale prices but even the minimum truck orders can be too much for local grocers
Jonas says if they can find a way to get those prices down, grocers will have a better shot at competing with the dollar stores.
“If we can find a way to reduce those costs for grocery stores so it can help keep them open that would go a long way,” said Jonas.
