Bill to aid rural grocers advances in Iowa House

DES MOINES — As Iowa’s rural food deserts continue to expand, rural grocery stores could see some relief under legislation unanimously advanced Thursday by the Iowa House that would provide assistance for costs, including equipment upgrades and capital improvements.

Beginning this July if it becomes law, House File 1032 would award matching funds up to $100,000 to grocery stores in rural areas for projects including utility upgrades, equipment, furnishings, professional services and technology.

Republican Rep. Shannon Latham of Sheffield, one of the bill’s cosponsors, said the grants would help rural grocery stores stay open as many continue to close across the state.

“Food deserts are growing across our state as independent grocery stores close their doors,” Latham said. “The number of independent grocers has decreased by 15 percent in Iowa during the past decade, and this decline is even more staggering in rural Iowa, where more than 40 percent of grocery stores have closed in communities with populations less than 1,000.”

Between 2000 and 2019, independent rural grocery stores were three times more likely to close compared with independent grocery stores in urban areas, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture

The bill’s other cosponsor, Republican Rep. Brian Lohse of Bondurant, said he has heard from rural grocers struggling to say open when they face equipment failure.

“You're one cooler away from going down, from going out of business,” Lohse said. “The margins are so thin … the equipment is so expensive, it can be incredibly difficult to keep up with technology. Those types of things can put someone out of business so quickly.”

Qualified grocery stores under the legislation include ones with 10 or fewer stores. The program would prioritize stores that accept SNAP and WIC benefits and are located in the most sparsely populated areas of the state. It also would prioritize businesses that make efforts to sell locally produced and grown food.

Republican Rep. Austin Harris of Moulton introduced an amendment to include stores where 50 percent of retail space is dedicated to traditional grocery shopping, or 30 percent of revenue comes from the grocery shopping.

“A lot of towns in my district and other parts across the state, their little town, they have a grocery store, but it's not just a grocery store, it's also a diner or something else,” Harris said.

The bill has yet to be taken up by the Iowa Senate.