Giving Compass' Take:

· With a higher demand for food security during the pandemic, rural grocery stores are getting an economic boost due to greater customer traffic and limited food availability. 

· How has the coronavirus pandemic instilled fear into the public regarding food security?  How has in impacted the food market and economy?

· During these unprecedented times, here's how we can curb food waste through the pandemic.

John Paul Coonrod usually recognizes most of his customers. Lately, though, he says there have been a lot of unfamiliar faces at Great Scott! Community Market.

The small grocery store opened in Winchester, Ill. last year in what was once an old shoe store. It stocks your standard dried goods, canned goods and craft beer and wine, and has a deli section in back.

And since the start of the pandemic, the store has seen more business than ever.

“We've settled into a pretty good stasis of sales that are about double, I would say, what they were pre-COVID,” says Coonrod.

Coonrod says he thinks the boom in business is coming from both locals and out-of-towners, and there could be a number of reasons for the increase.

For one, due to lockdown orders, people who live in rural areas like Winchester aren’t travelling as much into urban areas for work, and are likely choosing to shop closer to home.

Read the full article about rural grocery stores and coronavirus by Dana Cronin and Madelyn Beck at Harvest Public Media.