Zohran Mamdani’s recent victory in the New York City mayoral democratic primary has brought national attention to his proposal for city-run grocery stores and how to address the issues posed by food deserts and food insecurity. According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), approximately 2.3 million, or 2.2%, of households in the continental US live more than a mile from a supermarket and do not have access to a vehicle. The USDA’s Food Access Research Atlas notes that 18.8 million Americans, or 6.1%, live more than 1 mile (in urban areas) or more than 10 miles (in rural areas) from a supermarket. This lack of access to supermarkets and healthy food poses health risks to these Americans.
Mamdani’s pilot plan to address food deserts and food insecurity in New York City is to build five city-owned grocery stores, one per borough, focused on keeping prices low rather than making a profit. This grocery store plan is not only about addressing the lack of access to healthy food, but also about affordability. The pilot program has a $60 million estimated cost and the stores would be exempt from rent and property taxes. According to polling done by Data for Progress, 66% of likely voters support Mamdani’s plan. A 2023 report by the New York State Department of Health found rates of food insecurity in New York City vary from 39% of adults living in food insecurity in the Bronx to 22.1% in Staten Island. Food deserts can presently be found in more than 2 dozen neighborhoods in New York City.
City-run grocery stores are not a novel idea. Many cities across the country have implemented plans similar to Mamdani’s with varying levels of success and city involvement. In the town of St. Paul, Kansas, where there had not been a grocery store for almost two decades, a city-run grocery store was opened in 2008 and continues to provide the town with healthy, affordable food. Madison, Wisconsin, and Atlanta, Georgia, have both implemented successful public-private grocery store partnerships where the cities have helped finance construction and provided tax incentives. Those plans both featured less city-government involvement than Mamdani’s, but still show that city government can play a role in combating food deserts and food insecurity.
There are differing opinions on whether Mamdani’s plan will be successful. Mamdani has famously drawn criticism from New York grocery chain CEO John Casimatidis, who sees the prospect of city-run grocery stores as a threat to private grocers that already operate on very small margins. Mamdani’s detractors also point to examples of city-run efforts gone awry. Not far from St. Paul, Kansas, a city-run grocery store, Erie Market, in Erie, Kansas, struggled to compete with the prices of other grocers that were at least a 15-20 minute drive away. Erie Market had been the only market in town, and after significant investment in the store by the town, its management and operation were transferred to a private company, and it subsequently ceased operations entirely.
While the fact that there is a need to increase the access and affordability of healthy food in the US is clearly evident, there is still debate on what role city-run grocery stores and local governments at large have to play in solving the ongoing food insecurity and food desert crises.