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'A very dim future': Delayed and reduced SNAP benefits hurt MN's small town grocery stores
MPR News, 11/6/25
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/11/06/snap-delays-hurt-minn-small-town-grocers
. . . The delay and cut in SNAP benefits is also hurting small, independent grocers, especially those in small, rural towns who are already struggling to stay afloat.
Tim Juba is co-owner and store manager at Juba’s Supervalu in Blue Earth, Minn., of Faribault County. He says he’s already been losing customers, and his sales have declined since the end of the pandemic. And he says a significant number of his customers losing SNAP benefits will hurt his business even more.
“These customers who are not getting their SNAP benefits are not coming in to shop,” Juba, 52, who runs the small grocery store with his father and siblings, said. “So that’s going to affect our overall sales, which are already in decline. . . .
“The future doesn’t look great for small independent grocery stores,” Juba said. “Sales are down everywhere. And it’s not just grocery stores … it’s the economy. Grocery stores like ours suffer … and now losing these SNAP customers? Well, we possibly are looking at a very dim future.”
. . . Inflation has driven up food prices, making it more difficult for smaller, independent stores like Juba’s to compete with big box retailers, even those that are miles away. Juba said he worries about not being able to sustain his business.
. . . DCYF [the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families] says that every dollar spent by those receiving the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding generates up to $1.50 in local economic activity — boosting not just grocery and other food retailers, but their suppliers, business partners and neighboring retailers.
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/11/06/snap-delays-hurt-minn-small-town-grocers
. . . The delay and cut in SNAP benefits is also hurting small, independent grocers, especially those in small, rural towns who are already struggling to stay afloat.
Tim Juba is co-owner and store manager at Juba’s Supervalu in Blue Earth, Minn., of Faribault County. He says he’s already been losing customers, and his sales have declined since the end of the pandemic. And he says a significant number of his customers losing SNAP benefits will hurt his business even more.
“These customers who are not getting their SNAP benefits are not coming in to shop,” Juba, 52, who runs the small grocery store with his father and siblings, said. “So that’s going to affect our overall sales, which are already in decline. . . .
“The future doesn’t look great for small independent grocery stores,” Juba said. “Sales are down everywhere. And it’s not just grocery stores … it’s the economy. Grocery stores like ours suffer … and now losing these SNAP customers? Well, we possibly are looking at a very dim future.”
. . . Inflation has driven up food prices, making it more difficult for smaller, independent stores like Juba’s to compete with big box retailers, even those that are miles away. Juba said he worries about not being able to sustain his business.
. . . DCYF [the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families] says that every dollar spent by those receiving the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding generates up to $1.50 in local economic activity — boosting not just grocery and other food retailers, but their suppliers, business partners and neighboring retailers.
I added the emphasis, mostly to highlight that the decline in smaller independent grocers has been ongoing for a long time (from this article and several others I've read). The SNAP reductions are adding sudden additional pain to very-thin-margin grocers. As a limited mobility person (no working car), I feel for people who don't have local options.
ETA - Blue Earth is straight sout of Mankato, just 10 miles or so north of the Iowa border.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Blue+Earth,+MN+56013/@44.0298211,-94.1854246,8.17z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x87f4129f4d139875:0x2d4f1d2231d86f1e!8m2!3d43.6375818!4d-94.1023906!16zL20vMHZ6czQ?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MTEwNC4xIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
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(Source: Wikipedia)
Yeah, well...
