Dr. David Procter’s research interest focuses on rural community development and building effective campus/community partnerships. In 2007, Dr. Procter along with several faculty at K-State, a group of rural grocers, community development non-profits, state agencies, and citizen leaders launched the Rural Grocery Initiative to identify challenges faced by rural grocery stores and sustainable models of rural grocery operation to address those challenges. Since that time, Procter and the Rural Grocery Initiative have created an informational website (www.ruralgrocery.org), hosted five national rural grocery summits, developed a series of rural grocer best practices, created the nationally recognized rural grocery toolkit, and have helped launch numerous rural grocery stores across Kansas. Procter has presented this work at several national and international conferences, national webinars, and at briefings before the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate Hunger Caucuses. He also serves on the Healthy Food Policy Project Advisory Committee.