Farm406

farm406 34 Montana is a vast state with a sparse population. A little over one-third of the people live in a rural area. Small towns, especially those on the prairie east of the mountains, are fading because the population has further diminished. For various reasons, many find themselves going to metropolitan areas where they also grocery shop. Small-town grocery stores no longer have the customer base to stay in business. The problem of distance arises when the town grocery store closes. Some who live in or around Turner are as far as 45 miles from the closest grocery store; those living in the Geraldine area may drive as far as approximately 30 miles to Fort Benton or Stanford, and Neihart is 42 miles from White Sulphur Springs or 36 miles to Belt, although a Monarch establishment has a few grocery items. During the last five years, all three communities found themselves looking at a void which is called a food desert. Within each community, everyone is inconvenienced. Some residents are unable to travel to another town for groceries. Others quickly learn that it takes time—a good half day—and money for fuel to drive to another community, sometimes for something as simple as a jug of milk. With the assistance of the Montana Cooperative Development Center located in Great Falls, communities, such as Turner, Geraldine, and Neihart, have formed cooperatives to address the need for a grocery store. "Over ninety percent of the Big Flat Community has supported How Co-ops are Saving Small Communities The Challenges of Convenience in Rural Montana: By Suzanne Waring Photo by: Jim Wells ave you been in parts of Montana when the thought occurred to you, "Where do the people who live here shop for groceries?" H The Inconvenience Store in Neihart.

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