Rural Food Access

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS: Project Management & Coordination Services For Pilot North Central Regional Grocery & Local Food Initiative

Request for proposal - deadline Sept. 15 (189.62 KB)

The North Dakota Rural Electric Cooperative Foundation has received funding from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota (BCBSND) Caring Foundation to bring accessible and healthy food options to Walsh County through the Rural Access Distribution (RAD) Cooperative. RAD Cooperative is a shared services cooperative, or redistribution hub, comprised of three grocery stores, one bar and restaurant, and a community development organization from five communities in northeastern North Dakota — Park River, Hoople, Edinburg, Adams and Fordville.

RAD Cooperative has scheduled expanded delivery throughout the county and is in the process of installing climate-controlled grocery locker systems in Fordville and Adams. Soon, community members can buy local products by ordering online using a secure purchasing platform.

Learn more about this project:

Click here to view the recording, slides, and additional materials for each of the webinars in the Keeping Groceries Alive Webinar Series.

articles signing - rural access distribution co-op

Walsh County Map Park River is the dedicated redistribution hub. By redistribution, we mean in and out the same day – it is not a warehouse.

Hoople and Edinburg are communities with small, existing grocery stores. One is independently owned, and one is community-owned. Park River, Hoople and Edinburg will place their orders collectively and the order will be delivered to Park River by the supplier. This step does not require any investment. Park River has adequate sorting space and space to hold frozen and refrigerated foods during the sorting and pre-delivery time period.

We have been able to document an average 14% price difference on wholesale food products between stores 15-20 miles from each other simply based on volume. This collective purchasing increases the total volume, improving the price for all communities. It will also help improve variety as stores will be able to partner in the purchase of cases at a volume discounted price.

Adams is a community without a grocery store. The community is interested in a climate-controlled grocery locker system. This system includes lockers that hold ambient, frozen and refrigerated products, an online ordering software system and a climate-controlled delivery truck. The people in Adams would be able to place their orders online via a credit card transaction to Park River. Park River would deliver the products to the locker and send either a text or email message informing the customer the product has been delivered and assign them a code. The customer can go to the lockers, enter the code, and the assigned doors pop open. Once the product is picked up, the store receives confirmation the transaction is complete.

Fordville is also without a grocery store. A community member is interested in a climate-controlled grocery locker system. Fordville could simply join the collective purchasing group rather than worrying about attracting a supplier. Again, the increased volume would benefit all.

By including the locker system in the redistribution hub, we will bring one small store online, we will have a delivery truck for the hub, and we will possibly bring healthy food access to two small communities without.

We anticipate this could also be a way to hub local foods. Suppliers of local produce, bakery items, inspected meat or other items could deliver products to the hub to have them delivered on the same truck as the conventional wholesale products. There could be other business partners, for example a local pharmacy.

Grocery stores are critical businesses in rural communities – they serve as essential sources of healthy food, drive local economies and provide space for community members to gather and connect. So, when a grocery store closes, the community loses out. In order to maintain vibrant rural grocery stores over the long-term, grocers and communities must plan ahead.

This eight-part webinar series presents steps for completing a successful grocery business transition. In many cases, some form of community or shared-ownership model provides a viable opportunity for maintaining a vibrant rural grocery store. Each webinar explores a different topic pertinent to successful business transitions.

Keeping Groceries Alive Webinar Topics

Jan. 28: Grocery Business Transition Planning: An Overview
Feb. 4: Understanding Grocery Ownership Models
Feb. 11: Preparing for Business Transition
Feb. 18: Assessing Markets & Community Needs
Feb. 25: Planning your Business
March 4: Funding the Transition
March 11: Recruiting Store Managers
March 18: Mastering Grocery Store Nuts & Bolts

Click here to find the recording, slides and additional materials for each of the webinars in the Keeping Groceries Alive webinar series.

Supply chain interruptions are providing an opportunity for local producers to connect with North Dakota grocery stores to ensure residents in the state have a consistent supply of healthy foods. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been concerns expressed over whether grocers will be able to receive all the fresh produce they need for their customers.

NDAREC has partnered with the North Dakota rural grocers, the North Dakota Grocers Association and Dakota College at Bottineau Entrepreneurial Center for Horticulture to bring resources and information to local growers and grocers. An informational video was created to show grocers and growers alike how easy it is to collaborate, giving the growers a local outlet to sell their produce and the grocers a way to provide affordable, local produce to their customers. More information can be found at ndsmallfarms.com.

To view the video please visit this link: ndsmallfarms.com/farm-to-grocery.html

For more information or media availability on this topic, contact Quinn Renfandt, director of the Entrepreneurial Center for Horticulture, Dakota College at Bottineau, at (701) 681-0252 or quinn.renfandt@dakotacollege.edu.

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