It's a tough world for independent store keepers, especially grocers.
The narrow-margin business model established by stores like A&P and Kroger, has always made owning a grocery particularly challenging, but these days, locally-owned stores are either being purchased by big chains or closing altogether, creating food deserts in larger communities and big economic hits in smaller, rural ones.
The solution, says author and journalist Jon Steinman, could well be the co-op; a model he says has built-in benefits for the community, the local economy, and sustainability.