The Grocery Stores Southwest Oklahoma Residents Say They Would Not Trade

A now deleted viral video bashing a small town grocery store on the East Coast has united residents in southwest Oklahoma to support local grocery stores in rural communities. Oklahoma is mostly made up of small town communities, and more often than not, the towns only have one grocery store to shop at.

When influencer Catherine Ebs' video mocking a small town grocery store over the July 4 weekend made it to my feed, I was annoyed at how condescending she was while still filling her basket up with freshly butchered meat and local produce. And I wasn't the only one. Ebs has since deleted the video and turned off comments on her Instagram.

Even though the video has been deleted, small town residents in southwest Oklahoma are still responding by showing appreciation for their local grocery stores.

Local grocery stores are the heart of Oklahoma's small towns.

My hometown is Frederick, which is a small town in southwest Oklahoma. Growing up, we were blessed with two local grocery stores, but today, the town only has one, United Supermarkets. It's one of the main places I stop at when visiting home, alongside my favorite local gas station, Dad's, and the best Sonic in Oklahoma.

But Frederick's United Supermarkets location is the stop I usually make with my dad. And it's the only place where I could potentially run into a former teacher or an old friend from high school, because a small town grocery store is a community experience. It's where my dad often has meaningful conversations with neighbors, or where my mom gets to inquire about a friend's loved one who has been in the hospital.

So even though small town grocery stores can often run low on stock or have higher prices than large box stores, they're still a vital part of the community offering more than just food. They're the heart of connection for people in rural communities.

READ MORE: How A Viral Video Sparked Pride In Oklahoma's Small Town Stores

Southwest Oklahoma residents love to support their small-town grocery store.

We recently asked our listeners what they're favorite small town grocery store is in southwest Oklahoma, and a lot of listeners mentioned their own hometown grocery store.

See below a list of southwest Oklahoma's favorite small town grocery stores.

• Toma Brothers Grocery (aka Tomas) - 618 E. St, Snyder
• Comanche's Delbert's Supermarket - 601 Hillery Rd, Comanche
• Williams Foods 1st (aka Williams) - 8287 US-277, Elgin
• Walters Hometown Grocery - 502 S 7th St, Walters
• Rush Springs' Delbert's Supermarket - 4634 US-81, Rush Springs
• Apache's Super C Mart - 904 Coblake St, Apache
• Puckett's Food Store - 407 N 4th St, Sayre
• Frederick's United Supermarkets - 315 N Main, Frederick

One of the main reasons people said what they loved about their hometown grocery store is the employees or people who own it are nice and care about the people who shop there.

What's your favorite small town grocery store in southwest Oklahoma?

Did we miss your favorite small town grocery store in southwest Oklahoma? Let us know by sending us a message on our official station app!

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