Two Allen County food providers made national news Thursday as the CBS Evening News highlighted the plight of rural food deserts.
The Mildred Store and Humanity House, along with a grocery store in St. Paul, were featured in a three-minute segment.
The report highlighted that 40 million live in food deserts in the U.S., which in rural areas means they are at least 10 miles from a grocery store. At least 20% of those people are low income.
“The irony in many rural communities is that they are surrounded by farmland that’s growing food. There’s just no access to it,” reporter Janet Shamlian said.
The segment first focused on the St. Paul store, which is owned by the city in a unique arrangement.
Then, it showed scenes from Humanity House in Iola, where founder Tracy Keagle talked about its food pantry that serves about 2,000 people each month.
“Without this recourse, what would families do?” Shamlian asked.
“They would starve,” Keagle responded.
The bulk of the segment, though, was dedicated to the Mildred Store.
Owners Loren and Regena Lance said they bought the store to keep it from closing, as most area residents at that time would need to drive at least 30 minutes in any direction to buy groceries.
They’ve since turned the store into a destination, the report noted. They offer nostalgic food items and deli sandwiches that attract customers from a large area. They also added a dance hall, which brings a full house to monthly events. 
“Was it a purposeful decision to make it more than a grocery store?” Shamlian asked.
“Not originally,” Regena Lance answered. “Originally it was to save the local store, then it metamorphosed into so much more.”
“When you hit that door, you feel like you’re at home,” Loren added. “That’s the way we want you to feel.”
REGENA said the news story came to be after she was contacted by a CBS News producer from New York.
