When I’m not gardening in Rosebud, I am working on increasing access to good food in the town of Hysham, 35 miles to the west of Forsyth. Hysham is the only town in Treasure County, whose entire population barely tops 1,000, and whose grocery store closed its doors in 2008. Since then, residents can do some shopping at the local gas station but otherwise must drive at least 35 miles to Forsyth’s grocery store or 70 miles to the Wal-mart in Billings or Miles City. Although the gas station has expanded to carry the basics, it cannot offer a balanced diet, and what it does offer is exorbitantly priced. For a community of people with relatively high levels of poverty, living here is an enormous challenge.
Without a grocery store, few people are willing to move to town, and more and more are forced to move away as they age. What used to be a successful, albeit tiny town, is fast becoming a ghost town. Farmers must sell their produce elsewhere; tourists pass by because there is nowhere to stay or shop; and residents must do their shopping elsewhere. Without a store, within ten years this town will probably no longer exist. Most of the buildings along Main Street are shuttered and closed, apart from the hardware store and the restaurant-bar.
For the last month, I have been working with interested Hysham residents on the idea of creating a co-operative grocery. Although there is little local produce, we hope to entice producers to bring what foods they do have here. A store would offer supplies to the hunters and fishermen who pass by throughout the summer, and provide a space for the community to meet and socialize. A local, community owned store would help to keep money in the community. Currently, everything goes straight out and away.
The idea of starting a co-op in Hysham is a daunting task. I am only slowly getting to know the residents, and learning about all of the obstacles to this project. Is there even enough interest in Treasure County to keep any store afloat? How do I sell the idea? How the heck do we get foods shipped out here? Perhaps not surprisingly, people claim to have adapted to driving the 35 miles or more to do their shopping and say they are not inclined to break this habit. I’ve heard them say this store would probably be too expensive, and insist on disregarding the fact that the gas they spend driving out of town makes shopping much more costly.
One innovative idea that the school came up to help lower prices in the store was to buy food for the cafeteria from the store to increase the size of shipments to reduce shipping costs. This could also potentially maximize the amount of (more or less) local food being served in the school.
Although the situation here is different than Rosebud, the main challenge boils down to the same thing: enthusiasm. The project depends completely upon the interest and support shown by every single person in town. And with such a cultural disinterest in food as anything more than fuel, it is hard to convince them why this is such an important issue. I see a grocery store as a gateway to an economic revival for Hysham. I can see it creating a thriving little downtown (in my wildest dreams I envision a coffee shop!) Hysham's residents are dedicated, hardworking farmers and ranchers who are active in the community on a variety of issues. I simply need to present the grocery store not as just a vehicle for delivering food, but as an opportunity for Hysham to get back on the map, and not as a statistic but as an example of success!
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