The tiny Scott County community of Riggston, 50 miles west of Springfield, with a mere 18 residents, is drawing national attention for a self-serve operation in a small building that is addressing the issue of rural American food deserts.
"There is not another one like this in the United States," said Jenny Sauer-Schmidgall, the owner of Grab-N-Grow Greenhouse. "I have farmers in other states and even in Canada that want to have this concept in their town because – I hesitate to say it – there's nothing bad about it."
The Grab-N-Grow Greenhouse is a combination of an indoor farmers market and a self-serve grocery store. Local produce growers, livestock producers and bakers bring their fresh goods to the facility and customers select and pay for what they need.
"Selling locally grown items is not a new concept," Sauer-Schmidgall said. "The way that it's set up and how it addresses the food desert issue is the new concept."
It all began in April 2022 when Sauer-Schmidgall started a small, self-serve greenhouse in Scott County. A woman who bought plants from the greenhouse was known for making delicious cookies and scones, so Sauer-Schmidgall asked the woman to bake some of those items for the greenhouse's grand opening. A display refrigerator was placed in the greenhouse so the icing on the cookies would not melt.
"You wouldn't think a refrigerator would work in a greenhouse, but it did," Sauer-Schmidgall said. "Then my husband said, 'How about trying to sell some of your Black Angus beef from the family farm there?' It sounded hard at first, but I figured it out. It's easier to sell beef than a bag of cookies."
As the operation grew, Sauer-Schmidgall and her husband demolished an old garage on some family-owned property and constructed a new 288-foot-square building that opened in November 2022 as the Grab-N-Grow Greenhouse's new location.
"While I was building it, I had a chicken farmer, a pork farmer and other producers show up asking if I would sell their products in the greenhouse," Sauer-Schmidgall said. "It just snowballed from there. All I wanted to do was grow and sell plants; I didn't ever think I would sell food."
When her father died unexpectedly during planting season a year ago, Sauer-Schmidgall had to take over more of the duties on the family farm. That made the self-serve aspect of the Grab-N-Grow Greenhouse even more important, since she doesn't have to be on site while products are delivered or purchased.
"It provides another revenue stream for the farmer, the producer and people in the community like the cookies and scones lady, who is a stay-at-home mom," Sauer-Schmidgall said. "Also, the woman who bakes and delivers fresh bread every day, she's a secretary at Winchester High School."
The Grab-N-Grow Greenhouse also addressed the lack of fresh food availability in Scott County, a situation that was exacerbated recently when the last grocery store in Winchester closed. The county still has convenience stores, but they don't offer fresh, nutritious food.
"A food desert doesn't just mean that there isn't a grocery store. It also means people aren't getting the good stuff," Sauer-Schmidgall said. "I'm not against a bag of chips, but you can't be healthy eating processed foods and drinking soda every day."
Several months ago, Sauer-Schmidgall discussed her operation during a casual conversation with her Springfield attorney, who suggested that she make some state elected officials aware of what she was doing. State Sen. Doris Turner, a Springfield Democrat, immediately expressed interest in the Grab-N-Grow Greenhouse and the potential it may hold for other rural areas in Illinois.
Turner cosponsored Senate Bill 3219, which expands the 2023 Illinois Grocery Initiative by allowing the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to provide grants for equipment upgrades for farmer-owned grocery stores or markets like the Grab-N-Grow Greenhouse.
"Everyone deserves access to fresh, nutritious foods, no matter where they live," Turner said.
"Allowing farmer-owned grocery stores and markets to receive grants would help boost our local economies while uplifting our farmers."
DCEO currently provides grants to existing independently owned for-profit grocery stores, cooperative grocery stores or nonprofit grocery stores. Turner's initiative came as a direct response to the success of the Grab-N-Grow Greenhouse, and she invited Sauer-Schmidgall to testify in support of the bill in Springfield.
Senate Bill 3219 has received strong bipartisan support. Two Republicans, along with five other Democrats, have added their names as cosponsors of Turner's bill.
"By incentivizing the growth and collaboration of local food providers, we're not just investing in infrastructure, we are investing in a healthier Illinois," Koehler said. "This program represents a strategic investment in our communities, reinforcing our commitment to a sustainable and thriving future for everyone."
Sauer-Schmidgall has been taken by surprise with the attention her little Scott County operation has drawn.
"When I started this, I didn't do it to make money. I actually built it to fail," Sauer-Schmidgall said. "I built a garage door on the store because if it failed, we would still have a nice garage."
So how does it feel to be a food desert trailblazer who's getting such widespread attention?
"It's weird, flattering, spectacular and kind of shocking," Sauer-Schmidgall said. "I wish my dad could be here to see this. How it has impacted the community has been surreal."
