To the editor:

When are these big grocery chains going to back off? Grocery business will never be back to what it was two years ago as shopping from home is really big. They continue to do so much damage to rural Iowa.

With the mayor of Manson and his group he assembled a couple years ago to get our store back up and running, they approached two of the chains for help like Rockwell City approached one. Now months later, neither would offer help before the pandemic hit the world. But the owners of the only grocery store left in the county were very helpful from Lake City. They attended our city planning meetings with advice and help. They also delivered weekly grocery orders to our door steps until our store got open.

A couple weeks ago on state news the town of Colfax family-owned grocery wanted to retire, but the city could not raise money to buy it, so Fareway put their name on it. As I worked for Fareway for 27 years starting in the early ’60s until 1990, you were treated like family. As they tried to keep up with competition and you felt like you just became a number.

Also family-owned meat processing plant expanded in Rockwell City as they did in many towns throughout the pandemic to help the area. I think you will be making a lot of bad feelings in the area. We learned without a store that car dealerships, restaurants, hardware, real estate, rentals and all other business hurt as people will spend their money for fuel to drive to big cities to buy groceries throughout Iowa.

I just celebrated my 80th birthday but thank our mayor and city for what they have done. Been in Manson 20 years and lived in six other areas with my job in Iowa and this is the best.

John Jacobs

Manson