Story Spotlight: Rural grocery store stocks up on community support

Back in early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had recently been declared, and restrictions were severely impacting small grocers. During the thick of it, Bakke was working the store one day, when the phone rang. 

“Someone was calling to tell us about a grant type-of-deal for places that were offering curb-side assistance. It was a small amount, just a few hundred dollars, but we were still operating and it was expensive. That’s how I got into it, it was all over a phone call.”

The caller was Shannon Stassen, of the University of Minnesota Northwest Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships (RSDP.) Stassen was spreading the word about RSDP Rapid Response funding for urgent community needs related to COVID-19. Bakke admits that at first he was skeptical of the offer. 

“But then I thought, ‘it’s the U of M, it’s legit,’” says Bakke. “When the check showed up, just like that, I kind of built some trust in Shannon.”

A year later, Bakke had taken over the store when that familiar face, Shannon Stassen, reached out again. This time, he was sharing information about the Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) Seed Grant Program and other support opportunities.

“I’m a grocer by trade, so this is not really in my element. Shannon stopped by several times and talked through things with me. He helped me with my wording on the application and got the ball rolling.”

Eventually, Bakke applied for and received a CERTs Seed Grant. He also rang up support from other groups, like the Good Food Access Program. Meaning Aaron could replace a few of his coolers with more energy efficient ones.

Aaron’s shiny new cooler is complete with doors that close to keep food fresh, LED lights, and an upgraded, more reliable energy source. It was a big change for Bakke, but also the town. 

“It’s like when a family gets a new car, and they're all excited. I had that — I got a cooler in the shop, and everyone was really excited. My customers are happy. They feel like they're shopping in a big store now and they praise how much better the produce is in quality.”

With the biggest item crossed off his grocery list, Bakke has had the resources to make other small updates to the store. The project’s success tastes almost as great as his fresh produce. 

“My customers know me and that I've always been here. Then I go and do a big project, and they really appreciate that. Whether it was me financing the whole thing or not. It was me taking the initiative. But I was short staffed, and overwhelmed, and there was no way I could go through the process on my own. It took someone like Shannon and RSDP to help me along.”