This 135-year-old corner store stocks up for rural Yolo County locals and passersby

The Abridged version:

• In rural Yolo County, residents have limited access to fresh, healthy food.
• One of the reasons for this food insecurity is a lack of affordable grocery stores or markets.
• About a third of all households in Yolo County and more than half of those housing agricultural workers are food insecure.
• The Guinda Corner Store, which has been around since 1891, plays a role in filling that need but faces challenges of its own.

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At the very northern edge of the Capay Valley, just before Highway 16 curves into a rugged landscape where tule elk wander beneath ancient oaks, the Guinda Corner Store sits where it has for the last 135 years.

Behind the counter, Pierce Scott and his blue heeler, Nelly, greet the periodic customer and ring up their sodas, snacks or six-packs of beer. Most are just passing through on their way to other places, but a few stick around.

There’s the man who comes in most days around 10:30 a.m. to drink his coffee, the families with kids Scott watched grow up and people who drop in to share or seek local information.

Over the decades, the Guinda Corner Store has served as an anchor for this rural part of Yolo County with fewer than 400 full-time residents.

“It’s been everything to the community,” said Scott, who has owned and operated the store for close to seven years.

Miles from the nearest supermarket, it has also long been the only place where locals can get some form of groceries.

Long way to go

From Guinda, the closest major grocery store is in Woodland, which is about a 40-minute drive. There is a smaller market in Esparto, which is closer, but Scott said most locals make a monthly or biweekly trip to Costco or Raley’s.

That’s not uncommon in more rural parts of Yolo County, where residents have limited local options to buy food. In the 2024 Yolo County Farmworker Assessment, survey respondents in Knights Landing, Madison and Winters specifically pointed to grocery stores as a community need that’s not being met.

Without convenient access to grocery stores, people living in swaths of the county have to travel considerable distances for affordable, healthy food. Many are forced to travel more than 10 miles — a key indicator of a food desert, according to the USDA.

Brentne Rueda, tribal citizen of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation who serves on philanthropic and enterprise boards and is an active community volunteer, said that growing up in one of those food deserts degraded her diet.

“Woodland is the closest town, and there’s Raley’s right there, but it was not the easiest thing to get there sometimes,” she said. “A lot of the time what that means is you’re eating food that is not necessarily the greatest quality food.”

Less frequent store visits = less fresh food

“You’re eating things that can be stored for long periods of time, or things that are able to be shelf stable. While that food’s great because you’re still getting fed, it obviously doesn’t always provide you with the right nutrition,” she said.

Rueda noticed the difference when she started going to school in Woodland and would compare her lunches to the local kids’.

“It’s a noticeable difference, but it’s about what we had access to,” she said. “It’s really all that we had.”

That experience influenced Rueda’s decision to engage in work related to food access and security in the region.

“I think that while we’re in a better position now to feed ourselves, and that’s amazing and we’re very grateful for that, it doesn’t stop us from wanting and needing to feed our community, because we know what it’s like to be in a food desert and not be able to have access to good, healthy foods,” she said.

Rueda said the work has only gotten more urgent. She has noticed an uptick in people coming through the Woodland Food Closet, where she volunteers frequently. In more rural areas, Rueda has been involved in organizing farmer’s markets, where she has seen what a lack of access to fresh produce can mean.

“Some of the kids that are in the community haven’t even tasted the fruits and vegetables that their parents are picking,” she said.

Food insecurity in Yolo County

According to the Yolo County Food Access Survey Report, nearly one in three overall households in the county and almost 53% of households with agricultural workers are food insecure. Survey respondents who lived in unincorporated, rural parts of the county and Winters reported the most insecurity when compared to residents of Davis, Woodland and West Sacramento.

Karen Baker, executive director of the Yolo Food Bank, said that around 35% of households in more rural parts of the county reported food insecurity. There are a host of factors that contribute to that statistic, including income and access to culturally relevant foods, but the lack of affordable stores plays an important role.

“That’s often where there are the fewest choices of grocery retailers,” she said.

The Yolo Food Bank does what it can to address that need with distribution events and boxed food deliveries, but it isn’t always enough.

“You’re not talking about a lot of resources for a family of five,” Baker said. “It’s keeping you alive, maybe.”

Higher price for food

That doesn’t mean there is nowhere to buy food in many of Yolo County’s small towns.

At the Guinda Corner Store, Scott has a modest assortment of produce and some pantry staples. But he said it’s increasingly difficult for a small store like his to compete with larger supermarkets and chain convenience stores.

Scott used a case of Dr Pepper as an example. At wholesale prices, a big box store or supermarket can purchase soft drinks at much lower prices than he can, meaning they can charge their customers less.

In a county with one of the highest poverty rates in the state, prices are a major consideration.

“People still look at price,” Scott said. “We’re all fighting for money.”

A new beginning for an old store

Despite the challenges, Scott thinks the Guinda Corner Store remains a viable business. During the summer, it’s the last stop for campers headed into the popular parks and wilderness areas around Cache Creek. Whitewater rafters, sightseers and wildflower enthusiasts parade through the store for directions and refreshments.

The seasonal traffic keeps the store afloat during quieter months, when local customers provide just enough business for it to break even.

Pretty soon, Scott will be one in a long line of former owners of the Guinda Corner Store. He’s listed the business for sale but says he is waiting for a buyer who will do right by the community.

Until that person comes along, Scott and Nelly will remain behind the counter, having coffee with customers, watching local kids grow and listening to cars pass by on their way into the rolling hills that rim the quiet valley.

Daniel Hennessy joins Abridged from the California Local News Fellowship. He’s a reporter covering Yolo County.