VELVA, N.D. – A crowd gathered in Velva on July 15 for a public announcement and open house for the future home of the North Central Regional Grocery and Local Food Hub.
The event celebrated a generous donation from former Dot's Pretzels owners Dot and Randy Henke, who gifted the building that will house the project. Community members, local leaders, grocers, producers and project partners came together to recognize the Henkes' legacy of entrepreneurship and community investment while looking toward the future of the initiative.
The facility, formerly home to Dot's Pretzels production, will become a regional grocery redistribution center and local food hub aimed at strengthening rural grocery stores and local food access. The project will improve access to healthy, affordable food while fostering collaboration among rural grocers and producers.
"It felt like the perfect fit ... We feel good about everything we are doing here and especially that we are helping the community of Velva. We wish the best for the NDAREC in making this a part of our Velva community," Dot Henke said during the event.
The North Central Regional Grocery and Food Hub Initiative is a multi-year effort to strengthen rural food access reducing reliance on distant supply chains and supporting small businesses while keeping dollars circulating in rural communities.
The project is led by the Rural Development Finance Corporation (RDFC), with support from the North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives (NDAREC) Rural Development Center and the North Dakota Rural Electric Cooperatives Foundation. RDFC secured a $12.6 million Bush Foundation grant to support renovation of the donated building and other project costs.
"This gift of $12.6 million is unlike anything else we have seen throughout the United States. We have an opportunity here to change the way we tackle food access in a way we have never done before," said Quinn Renfandt, a local producer and steering committee member for the food hub. “I can't wait to see what we do."
Rising wholesale prices, limited product variety and less frequent deliveries are among the challenges facing grocery stores in smaller communities across North Dakota. The North Central Regional Grocery and Food Hub Initiative aims to address these challenges and strengthen rural food access.
"This project is about strengthening rural North Dakota from the ground up," NDAREC Rural Development Director Ellen Huber said. "By bringing together independent grocery stores, local farmers, food businesses and community partners, we're building a stronger food system that keeps more food dollars local, improves access to healthy food and helps rural communities thrive for generations to come."
Learn more: ndarec.com/rural-food-access
