“We need to explore all the options to try and figure out how we are able to deliver better food access that’s affordable, easily accessible, and culturally appropriate for our residents,” said Councilor Liz Breadon, one of three co-sponsors of the proposal.
The hearing was planned before the government shutdown, which lasted a record 43 days and sent families dependent on SNAP benefits into crisis.
Supporters of city-owned grocery stores have pitched the idea as a way to lower food costs, given that the store wouldn’t have to factor rent or overhead costs into their prices.
Publicly-owned stores can “be structured to prioritize community benefit over profit, enabling lower prices, better food access, and stronger local sourcing,” the councilors wrote in the hearing order.
Councilors discussed different models of city investment into grocery stores and nonprofit partners.
Louijeune pointed to the New Jersey Food Desert Relief Act, which provides tax credits for the development and initial operating of supermarkets that open in food deserts, as a possible model. She expressed interest in expanding support for nonprofit food partners, mentioning the closure earlier this year of the Daily Table, and asked about the possibility of a feasibility study for a city-owned grocery store.
Councilor Ben Weber also highlighted Atlanta’s recent opening of a city-supported grocery store through a public-private partnership.
“During the government shutdown, there were a lot of folks that were eager to fill in gaps,” Weber said. “The city has special resources, so to tap into that might make the feasibility issue easier to digest.”
City-owned grocery stores have recently attracted more attention. Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdami has proposed setting up a network of publicly-owned grocery stores across New York City on city-owned property.
In October, Louijeune said that the hearing on city-owned stores in Boston is not related to Mamdani’s platform.
Running a public grocery store is no easy feat, however.
there are several difficulties for setting up a municipally-run store, said Jack Kenslea, political director for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. Warehousing, cold storage, and transportation are challenges that become much easier to address for large chains, rather than one or two city-owned stores.
The most successful stores , Kenslea said, are owned by the city but operated privately. This strategy allows grocery stores to access pre-existing networks to solve operational problems, while still cutting rent costs for the store on city-owned land.
Another question to answer includes the optimal size of the store. Urban stores often see smaller carts — because customers travel on public transit or by foot to shop — which makes the volume of sales smaller, Kenslea said. But smaller stores mean less options and could limit the possibility of a loading dock to receive food shipments.
Community advocates who spoke at the hearing stressed the thin margins of grocery stores, which make it hard for local shops to stay open in competition with large chains.
Darian Leta is board president of the Dorchester Food Co-Op, a community-owned grocery store, which earlier this year warned of financial troubles and implored members to shop. While Leta said the store is not going to close immediately thanks to donations and grants, operating the store is “still a constant struggle.”
“We are just not getting the shoppers,” she said.
Leta encouraged people to shop at community-owned stores rather than larger grocers, saying that co-ops aren’t incentivized to build stores in high-income areas and increase profit.
Continuous investment is required to improve access in a food desert, said Maxwell Chezem, assistant executive director at Maverick Landing Community Services.
“The total volume of sales is so much smaller for an urban grocer, as opposed to the Market Basket that’s right across the river,” Chezem said. “Essentially gentrification of the neighborhood would be necessary for it to be profitable to run a grocery store in the spaces where there currently aren’t grocery stores.”
Louijeune said she expected more hearings on the topic to follow, featuring managers of city-owned grocery stores in other cities.
To fully address food insecurity, “political courage” is required from all levels of government, Councilor Enrique J. Pepén said.
“Our healthcare is at risk, our SNAP benefits obviously are at risk, our housing is at risk, our transportation grants are at risk,” he said. “But when you look at the agenda, it’s kind of all connected.”
Katie Muchnick can be reached at katie.muchnick@globe.com.
About the Author
