MANHATTAN, Kan. – Saying “goodbye” to driving for 10, 20 or more miles for groceries need not be wishful thinking.

The loss of local groceries stores adds time and transportation costs to feeding the family, but there’s more to it than that, said David Procter, spokesperson for an upcoming Kansas State University conference focusing on rural (and, in urban areas, neighborhood) grocery stores.

Seasonal weather can make travel hazardous, if not impossible; driving also can be compromised by an injury, illness or the aging process.

Either way, access to food is limited -- and a health issue, said Procter, who encourages interested parties to attend the K-State rural grocery summit: “Strengthening Our Stores. Strengthening Our Communities.”

The summit is scheduled June 5-6 at the Hilton Garden Inn Conference Center in Manhattan, Kan. It is recommended for rural and neighborhood grocery store owners and managers; local government officials such as city and county commissioners, community economic development agencies and volunteers, potential funders, grocery distributors and concerned citizens.

For more information and registration, go to Rural Grocery Summit III or call: 1-800-432-8222 or 785-532-5569 weekdays during regular business hours.

More information also is available at each of Kansas’s 105 K-State Research and Extension offices.

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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by: Nancy Peterson
nancyp@ksu.edu
K-State Research & Extension News

David Procter is at 785-532-6868