Day 33

Clara City, Minnesota Corner Store Assessment

Clara City is located in a rural section of western Minnesota about 50 miles from the South Dakota border. Having a relatively small population of approximately 2,000 people, Clara City has a surprisingly large food network within their town limits. It has several restaurants, a medium sized locally-owned grocery store, and one convenience store in the downtown area.

Rhodes Family Foods, the medium-sized grocery store, had all the items listed on the corner store assessment. However, it should be noted that a local believed that the store was struggling economically. She stated that most Clara City residents typically chose to drive 20 minutes to either Wilmer or Montevideo to purchase weekly groceries for pricing reasons. There was also a trucker stop located outside of town on Minnesota Highway 7 that I did not visit as it was fairly far away from the downtown area. There is no official farmer's market in town, yet fruit and vegetable stands do appear sporadically throughout the year. Activity levels in the town seem fairly high as many people were walking, biking, and skating around the park where we were camping.

Kwik-N-Ezy (traditional convenience store with deli inside) intersection of Minnesota 23 & Main St

Physical Description- the property looks exactly like a traditional convenience store. It is surrounded on two sides by two major roads into the town and by wooded areas on the other two sides. The store had two gas pumps located outside. Also, it advertises its deli on the outside of the store in solid, bold lettering.

1. Healthy Cereals: Special K, Cheerios
2. All types of milk
3. No baked chips
4. 4 packages of wheat bread
5. 100% Juice: Orange and Grape
6. No fresh produce
7. Canned Fruits: pineapple, mixed fruits (concentrate), pears (concentrate), peaches (concentrate)
Canned Vegetables: peas, corn, green beans, and mixed vegetables.