Re ections on the Inaugural Kansas Food Business Start-up Summit
Personalized Technical Assistance for Every Food Entrepreneur Continues (Plus other great opportunities) From Okinawa, Japan to Axtell, Kansas: A Researcher’s insight into rural grocery stores in Kansas
K-State
Jenny
Quinlan
Rial
Douglas
Bailey
Elesha
Kansas Food First is a biannual publication dedicated to celebrating the hardworking family farms and small food businesses across Kansas — spotlighting the people and partnerships that continue to strengthen our state’s food system. While this third issue comes to you from the same committed editorial team, it arrives under a new organizational banner. Following the dissolution of the federally supported Regional Food Business Centers in September 2025, our team continues this important work with generous support from the Patterson Family Foundation. Today, we are known as the Community Food Systems Team, which includes staff formerly housed within the Heartland Regional Food Business Center and the Regional Food Systems Partnership program, alongside our colleagues at the Rural Grocery Initiative (RGI). Together, this unified team provides statewide technical assistance, network facilitation, and resource navigation to support and strengthen the Kansas food system from farm to fork . In this issue, we invite you to dig into the ongoing projects and initiatives shaping our work at K-State Extension—from the RGI-led National Rural Grocery Summit to the Food Business Initiative’s inaugural Food Business Start-Up Summit. We’re grateful to share these stories with you, and even more grateful to continue this work in community with so many passionate Kansans.
In 2025, the CFS team:
◊ Brought $1.1M in food systems economic development funding to the state of Kansas
◊ Fielded more than 250 technical assistance calls with food and farm businesses
◊ Averaged 5 TA calls per week
◊ Presented to more than 350 Kansas businesses and leaders
CFS team Food Business Resource Navigators
Quinlan Carttar (left) and Jenny Doty support food entrepreneurship statewide, both by providing 1:1 technical assistance directly to food businesses, and as in this photo, by presenting to diverse stakeholders about strategies to support emerging food enterprises.
Kansas food and farm entrepreneurs often face a complex landscape of regulations, product development hurdles, and market challenges. To meet those needs, the K-State Extension Community Food Systems team provides coordinated, hands-on support designed to help small businesses grow, comply, and thrive across the state. With new funding secured, this team is able to continue offering the following services with the support of our collaborators at the Kansas Value Added Foods Lab (KVAFL) and the Kansas Department of Agriculture.
At the heart of this work is a commitment to one-on-one technical assistance. Food Business Resource Navigators meet directly with entrepreneurs—whether they are farmers launching value-added goods, home-based food producers, or early-stage food manufacturers—to identify needs, clarify next steps, and connect them to the right resources.
These individualized sessions often include guidance on licensing and regulations, labeling requirements, shared-use kitchen options, grant opportunities, scaling strategies, and connections to trusted partners such as Kansas Value Added Foods Lab, the Kansas Department of Agriculture, Small Business Development Center, and local Extension Agents. By serving as a central point of contact, the team helps streamline what can otherwise be an overwhelming process for new or growing businesses.
One of the team’s most popular offerings is access to two free product tests through the Kansas Value Added Foods Lab. Entrepreneurs developing new value-added food products can connect with a Food Business Resource Navigator for an initial consultation. Resource Navigators then help coordinate testing with KVAFL, which provides services such as physical, chemical, and microbiological analyses; label review and nutrition panel generation; and process-authority guidance when needed.
These services ensure that Kansas-made products—from sauces and baked goods to shelf-stable items—are developed safely, labeled correctly, and positioned to enter markets with confidence.
The Community Food Systems team is working with the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s From the Land of Kansas program to develop resources for producers expanding into new markets, and markets promoting producers, including trade show mini-grants, and promotional signage to highlight local producers in grocery stores. Full details of this program will be announced in early 2026, but producers can prepare to take advantage of these benefits by becoming a member of the From the Land of Kansas program at no cost.
To further support business growth, the Professional Development Scholarship remains available for Kansas food and farm entrepreneurs. This scholarship assists with the cost of approved trainings, workshops, conferences, and learning experiences—covering registration fees, travel, lodging, or other related expenses. Its goal is to help entrepreneurs build skills, strengthen business capacity, and access the education needed for long-term success.
“I found the sessions on pricing, promotions, and merchandising to be very helpful. They have already started impacting the way we talk about new suppliers, what items to carry, how to set our prices, how to create the price image we want to convey, how to increase sales through the visual appearance of the store, [and] how to approach deals and promotions.”
- Full Circle Sustainability on their attendance of the Mighty Community Markets Grocery Bootcamp, made possible by Professional Development Scholarship funding
Flint Hills Pints is a farmer-owned, small-batch ice cream brand based in Alma. Their products feature all-natural flavors using locally sourced milk, eggs, and real ingredients, with no artificial stabilizers or additives. Their products are currently sold at 17 locations statewide, with more on the way in 2026.
Sunflower Lane Farm is a family-run sheep farm in Abilene. They raise heritage longwool sheep — including Cotswold and Valais Blacknose — for their wool, and Katahdin hair sheep for meat production. Future plans for the farm, established in 2023, include agritourism offerings with a “you-pick” veggie garden so visitors can harvest produce and meet the flock.
From family-owned farms to artisanal makers, Kansas reveals itself through the food we grow and share. Bite of Kansas profiles five local food and farm entrepreneurs shaping the state’s culinary identity. Know a business we should feature? Share your recommendations at heartlandrfbc@k-state.edu!
Hungry Chickpea LLC is a salad and catering business in downtown Manhattan, whose offerings are shaped by the ethos “mindful cooking, joyful eating.” Their menu features fresh, locally sourced salads, wraps, and snacks, rotating seasonally. In the past year, they’ve expanded their catering capacity— investing in hot-holding equipment, transport carts, and service ware—to take on larger orders and grow their presence.
Jody’s Market is a community-centered micro-grocery in downtown Lawrence, offering local and specialty products, fresh produce, and grab-and-go items. As the only downtown grocery store, they are committed to serving residents of the surrounding neighborhoods, and celebrated their first anniversary in July 2025.
Walnut Valley Packing is a family-owned meat market and custom processor with locations in El Dorado, Augusta, and Andover, specializing in locally-sourced locally sourced beef and pork. With a reputation built on quality, craftsmanship, and down-to-earth service, Walnut Valley serves both every-day shoppers and customers stocking their freezers with bulk orders.
By Quinlan Carttar
In September 2025, food entrepreneurs from every corner of Kansas gathered in Lawrence for the first-ever Kansas Food Business Start-Up Summit. Over three packed days, growers, bakers, restaurant owners, food manufacturers, and value-added producers came together with a shared goal: to move their businesses forward with clarity, confidence, and connection.
The Summit emerged directly from needs identified by the K-State Extension Community Food Systems Team through hundreds of one-on-one technical assistance conversations with food and farm entrepreneurs. Again and again, business owners expressed the same challenges—limited time, fragmented information, and difficulty accessing the right expertise at the right moment. What they needed was not another webinar, but dedicated space to step away from daily operations, ask hard questions, and receive practical, Kansas-specific guidance.
Twenty-seven participants representing 15 food and farm businesses navigated the Summit alongside trained facilitators, many of whom were seasoned entrepreneurs themselves. A defining feature of the event was its “speed-dating” style Key Informant consultations, which connected participants directly with experts from the Kansas Department of Agriculture, the Kansas Small Business Development Center, Network Kansas, and other partner organizations. From licensing and food safety to branding, trademarks, financing, and growth strategy, entrepreneurs received real-time, actionable answers tailored to their businesses. Experienced food business owners also shared candid insights about navigating Kansas’s start-up landscape, offering peer-to-peer wisdom alongside technical expertise.
“The Summit was unlike anything I’ve seen before,” said Kelli Hansen, grassroots strategic developer with the Kansas Department of Commerce’s Office of Rural Prosperity, who served as a facilitator for the event.. “With so many support organizations in the room, food entrepreneurs made in one day the kind of progress that usually takes months.”
By the Summit’s conclusion, participants reported clearer goals, stronger support networks, and—importantly—a sense of collective momentum. Rather than viewing one another as competitors, entrepreneurs built trust as collaborators, openly sharing breakthroughs, lessons learned, and key takeaways from their most impactful consultations. In the months that followed, several businesses moved quickly toward funding opportunities, scaled production, or refined their business structures. The success of the inaugural Summit was unmistakable. Both participants and partner organizations have emphasized the value of continuing this model. As Hansen noted, “The tangible progress made by each business— and the depth of collaboration between them—make a strong case for future start-up summits.”
The K-State Community Food Systems Team is already hard at work planning a Summit in summer 2026. More details are forthcoming, but if the first year is any indication, Kansas food entrepreneurs have much to look forward to. Those interested in participating—as food or farm entrepreneurs or as entrepreneurial support organizations—are encouraged to get in touch.
By
27individuals, representing 15 businesses
12 counties across 2 time zones
15 Key Informants from the following organizations:
Kansas State University
Genuine Growth LLC
The Farmer’s Feed Intrust Bank
Midwest Specialty Foods
Kansas Dept. of Agriculture
Mid-America Regional Council
WDS Construction
Grabbe Law Office
Kansas Value Added Foods Lab
Kansas Small Bis. Dev. Center
Studio Magic Hour
Network KS
Omni Circle
Local Food Marketplace
90 Key Informant meetings in 5 hours
(Full Page) Food business entrepreneurs brought real challenges—and left with solutions shaped by peers and experts.
(Left) Facilitator Kelli Hansen works with Soji Babalola of the African Caribbean Market in Lawrence..
By Quinlan Carttar and Jenny Doty
Since 2008, the National Rural Grocery Summit (NRGS) has served as a key gathering point for rural grocery stakeholders — from store owners and community leaders to researchers, policymakers, funders, and food system advocates. The Summit is organized by the Rural Grocery Initiative (RGI), part of the K-State Extension Community Food Systems team, which works to support locally -owned rural grocery stores as essential community infrastructure. The next opportunity to attend this summit will be in May 2026 in Fargo, North Dakota. Registration will open in early 2026. For anyone working to improve food access, equity, and rural economic vitality, NRGS serves as a powerful catalyst; it surfaces real-world success stories and practical strategies, helping attendees foster collaboration and gain valuable insights to take back to their communities.
Held every two years, NRGS brings together a wide array of participants to exchange ideas and best practices. Attendees include independent grocers, food suppliers, Extension professionals, community development actors, healthy -food access advocates, funders, and policymakers.
Through panel discussions, workshops, breakout sessions, and tours — typically focused around themes like best practices, innovation, partnerships and community, funding and policy, industry trends, and healthy local food access — the Summit provides a space for participants to troubleshoot shared challenges, learn new business strategies, and explore emerging models for rural grocery operations.
Rural grocery stores are more than retail outlets: in many small towns they’re vital community hubs. They may be the one-stop shop where people can buy essentials, build relationships with their neighbors, and in some cases, support local producers whose products are on the shelves.
“Both the speakers and attendees of this conference are truly capitalizing on the opportunity of independent rural grocery businesses to build and maintain vibrant, healthy rural communities.”
- 2024 Summit Attendee
But these stores face unique and acute challenges: thin profit margins, supply and distribution obstacles, competition from big-box retailers, and changing demographics. For small rural stores, surmounting those hurdles often requires creative solutions, collaboration, and access to resources — which is precisely what NRGS aims to foster.
The Summit is also a space for ideating on the future of the rural grocery sector, spotlighting how these stores can play a role in improving healthy food access, promoting local sourcing, and supporting broader food -system resilience.
The next NRGS is slated for May 5–7, 2026, and will be held in Fargo, North Dakota, at the Holiday Inn - Fargo. It will be co-hosted by RGI, the University of Minnesota Extension Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships (RSDP), and the North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives (NDAREC), organizations which each have long histories of supporting rural grocers in their regions.
Registration opens in early 2026, with FREE early bird registration to grocers (up to two per store). To make travel affordable, RGI is chartering a bus from Kansas to Fargo. Priority will be given to Kansas rural grocers. Save your seat on the bus today!
https://www.ruralgrocery.org/summit/
By Quinlan Carttar and Jenny Doty
When we invest in rural grocery stores in Kansas, the impact extends far beyond state lines. That idea came into sharp focus in September 2025, when Japanese researcher Shu Li traveled across the world to study rural grocery stores in Kansas and Nebraska. She was drawn by the work of K-State Extension’s Rural Grocery Initiative (RGI), whose unique combination of research, case studies, and hands-on technical assistance has positioned Kansas as a global learning laboratory for rural food access. During her visit, Li toured 11 rural grocery stores across the two states.
Li’s research examines grocery stores not simply as retail outlets, but as essential community infrastructure— especially in places facing aging populations, depopulation, and limited access to services. While grocery stores are often discussed in terms of food access, she notes that their deeper social role—their value as gathering places, sources of connection, and anchors of daily life—is less understood and rarely measured. Kansas offered a remarkably diverse landscape for exploring this idea, with stores demonstrating a wide range of communitydriven strategies to prevent closure, support succession planning, and sustain local access to food.
Across both Japan and Kansas, Li encountered familiar challenges: labor shortages, razor-thin margins, and competition from larger retail formats. Yet despite these pressures, she also observed how deeply embedded grocery stores are in community life. Many rural groceries function as true “one-stop shops,” whose other offerings might include hardware sections, deli counters, Wi-Fi access, newspapers, or informal social spaces where neighbors linger and connect—reinforcing their role as social anchors as much as commercial enterprises.
Kyodo-baiten 共同売店—literally “cooperative store”—are community-owned and locally run grocery and retail enterprises found in Japan’s Okinawa and Amami Islands. Dating back more than a century, local residents pool community resources to ensure access, affordability, and economic self-reliance, especially in isolated areas with limited access to goods.
Li’s comparative research in Japan revealed strong parallels. On the northern island of Hokkaido, rural residents face long travel distances for groceries, much like many Kansans. In Okinawa, she studied Kyodobaiten —community-led cooperative stores with more than a century of history. Like U.S. cooperative groceries that boomed during the 1970s, these stores emerged from a desire for local control and economic independence from high prices while serving vital social roles.
“The challenges rural grocery stores face is fundamentally an issue that concerns the entire community.
During her Kansas visits, Li also encountered grocery store models she had never seen in Japan—bank-owned stores, school-run groceries, and tenant-operated arrangements designed to protect community access. One store’s relationship with a sister location allowed it to offer prepared foods without investing in its own commercial kitchen. “It helped me recognize how essential diverse stakeholders are,” Li explained.
Li also observed that even when stores close, they can be revived through creative, community-led approaches. In Axtell, Kansas, residents reopened their grocery as a community-owned hub after its 2022 closure. Similar efforts have unfolded in Okinawa, with two recently re-opened stores: one cooperative called Kamibi reopened through nonprofit leadership and strategic partnerships, while another called Sekigane Store now opens two days a week and is operated by local producers whose goods are sold in the store.
These examples led Li to a key insight: the long-term sustainability of independent grocery stores around the world requires not only community ownership, but adaptable operations and diverse partnerships.
“The challenge rural grocery stores face is fundamentally an issue that concerns the entire community,” she noted.
Rural grocery challenges exist around the world—but so do shared opportunities. By documenting store models that keep communities connected and food available, Li’s work reinforces RGI’s mission and demonstrates how investing in rural Kansas can help inform solutions for communities far beyond its borders.
Interested in learning more about Shu Li’s research? Watch her presentation.
Farmers and food producers that sell direct to consumers are invited to gain food business skills and network with other businesses.
Olathe – February 6
Hutchinson – February 7
Holton – February 20
Dodge City – February 26
Oakley – February 27
Parsons – March 6
Beloit – March 10
February 12-13
Manhattan, KS
Bringing together female farm operators, farm partners, landowners, and farm wives into an empowering, engaging, and credible learning environment
February 14
Lawrence, KS
Gather with farmers, organizations, and community members for a powerful day of collaboration, connection, and vision-building as we explore how to strengthen our communities and support one another in changing times.
May 21
Wichita, KS
Join Network KS at their annual conference uniting Kansas leaders to boldly solve community challenges.
February 7
Kansas City, MO
Cultivate KC convenes local and regional farmers and food activists to connect, converse, and contribute ideas regarding issues affecting our city’s urban farming community.
Monthly Webinar
Olathe, KS
Johnson County Extension Agents share monthly about how to grow, harvest and preserve food.
March 5
Garnett, KS
A fun-filled day honoring women in the farming world, including guest speakers, great food and lots of time to mingle with women in the industry.
May 5-7
Fargo, ND
The Rural Grocery Initiative's biannual premier networking and resource-sharing venue for independent grocers and rural food access stakeholders.
Grocery store owners’ registration costs are covered if you register before the early bird deadline.
Restaurant
Six week course
Virtual learning modules with opportunities to connect with instructors and participants through Zoom. Network Kansas partnered with the Online Restaurant Academy to offer this statewide cohort at $99/person (a $300 value).
See website for details on course dates.
June 24-26
Courtland, KS
This conference is for small business owners, dreamers and entrepreneurial support organizations.
Hosted by Kansas Department of Commerce
World Cup Foodpreneur Readiness
February 16
Webinar
Two sessions of a free, online training covering inventory, staffing, and more.
Food Biz Con
March 4-5
Food Biz Con Pitch Competition
March 6
K-State Olathe Campus
Free, two-day conference offers topics related to mobile food businesses, manufacturing, restaurants and agriculture
Understanding International Customer Needs
February 18
Webinar
World-Class Welcome Conference
March 12-13
Johnson County Community College
Gain cultural insights and customer service strategies to help Kansas businesses ensure that every international guest receives a first-class experience.
March 11
K-State Olathe Campus
Connecting food and farm producers to buyers, so producers can begin wholesaling their products into restaurants, retailers and distributors.
K-State Extension
Douglas County 2110 Harper Street
Lawrence, KS 66046
Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service
K-State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer.