(Radio Iowa) – The deadline is later this month for grocery stores and small food processors in rural Iowa to apply for large state grants to help make themselves more marketable to consumers. Cynthia Farmer, senior policy associate at the Center for Rural Affairs, says the grants are for up to 25-thousand dollars each, which could be especially beneficial for small-town groceries.

Farmer says rural grocery stores are the backbone of many Iowa communities, but they’re facing a host of significant challenges. Those include supply chain troubles, food price inflation, and competition from big box super-stores in nearby towns.

The Rural Innovation Grant Program is being offered by the Iowa Economic Development Authority and applications have to be submitted by October 25th. Farmer says a 50-percent cash match is required to take part, so for a rural grocer to get a 25-thousand dollar grant, they’ll have to put up at least 12-thousand-500.

The program has 200-thousand dollars allotted. To qualify, applicants must be located and incorporated or authorized to do business in Iowa, operate in a community of 20,000 or fewer people, and not be in a community contiguous to a city with a population of 40,000 or greater.

(More info. at iowaeda.com/center-for-rural-revitalization/rural-innovation-grant)