Rural Grocer Bridges School Meal Gap in North Dakota

Hoople Grocery partners with local schools to provide fresh produce and other healthy foods.

Published on Feb. 26, 2026

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

In a rural area of North Dakota, the co-owner of Hoople Grocery, Jenna Gullickson, is working to help local schools access fresh, healthy foods through a partnership with the Rural Access Distribution Cooperative. Meanwhile, a statewide effort is underway to provide free school meals to all students in North Dakota, regardless of household income.

Why it matters

Access to healthy school meals is a critical component of the social safety net, especially in rural areas where grocery stores and food distributors struggle to stay in business. This partnership between Hoople Grocery and local schools helps overcome distribution challenges and ensures students have access to nutritious foods.

The details

Through the Rural Access Distribution Cooperative, Hoople Grocery delivers fresh produce, milk, and other food items to several rural schools in the area on a weekly basis. This helps the schools access healthy foods that can be difficult for smaller, rural districts to obtain from traditional distributors. Meanwhile, a citizen-led coalition in North Dakota is working to get a measure on the ballot that would provide free school meals to all students in the state, regardless of household income.

  • Hoople Grocery has been partnering with local schools through the Rural Access Distribution Cooperative for several years.
  • A citizen-led effort to provide free school meals to all North Dakota students could appear on the state's ballot later this year.

The players

Jenna Gullickson

Co-owner of Hoople Grocery, part of the Rural Access Distribution Cooperative that delivers fresh produce and other healthy foods to local schools.

Rural Access Distribution Cooperative

A cooperative that allows local grocery stores to share and purchase bulk items together, and deliver them to rural schools in the area.

Fort Ransom School District

A rural school district that has faced challenges accessing fresh, locally-sourced foods due to declining enrollments, aging infrastructure, and tight budgets.

Got photos? Submit your photos here. ›

What they’re saying

“They get all their fresh produce from us, they get their milk through us. Our RAD co-op brings that to their schools every week.”

— Jenna Gullickson, Co-owner, Hoople Grocery (statenews.net)

“My problem, now, is that we have outgrown our space. I have every inch of my wall covered with products, and I need more space – so that is a very good problem for us to have.”

— Jenna Gullickson, Co-owner, Hoople Grocery (statenews.net)

What’s next

A citizen-led coalition in North Dakota is working to get a measure on the state's ballot that would provide free school meals to all students, regardless of household income. If successful, this could have a significant impact on food access for students across the state.

The takeaway

This story highlights the innovative ways that rural communities are working to ensure students have access to healthy, nutritious meals, even in the face of challenges like declining enrollments and tight budgets. The partnership between Hoople Grocery and local schools, as well as the statewide effort to provide universal free meals, demonstrate the importance of addressing food insecurity in schools, especially in rural areas.