Municipal Grocery Stores - Mamdani did not invent that concept. Just found out that it is being done here in ATL too

[tulipsandroses]

What are your thoughts on this concept? (Thoughts on municipal grocery stores please. Not whether you like or dislike Mamdani or his ideas!)
I have mixed feelings about it. Would love to hear other peoples' perspectives.

Atlanta is one step closer to creating 2 grocery stores with fresh food options in food deserts | What to know

The stores are expected to open in the second half of 2025, officials said.
ATLANTA — The City of Atlanta is one step closer to creating two fresh food grocery stores in its ongoing effort to combat food insecurity.
According to a release, Mayor Andre Dickens announced that the city is partnering with Invest Atlanta and Savi Provisions to establish two new grocery stores in low-food access neighborhoods. This is to help provide fresh food options to residents near Campbellton Plaza and Downtown.

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This municipal grocery store strategy is a significant step toward addressing food deserts in our city and ensuring that all residents can enjoy healthy, affordable food options," Dickens said. "We believe that everyone deserves access to fresh food, regardless of their economic situation.”
A city release said that both locations will create convenient hours of operation to accommodate various schedules. It will also feature a wide array of affordable fresh produce, meats, dairy products and other essential grocery items. This will be done by partnering with local farmers and vendors.
President and CEO of Invest Atlanta, Dr. Eloisa Klementich, said that the community grocery stores are projected to create 80 jobs with an estimated economic impact of $21 million.
https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/millions-approved-help-create-two-atlanta-grocery-stores-fresh-food-food-deserts/85-8358fa71-921b-4e73-9f2b-8a0d5d3e56f3

A novel solution to give Americans better access to fresh food is picking up steam across the country: government-owned, government-operated grocery stores. Such stores are touted by proponents as a way to provide groceries to so-called food deserts, communities that have been abandoned by for-profit stores that decided it wasn’t worth the investment. But to succeed they have to find ways to compete with the big chains that dominate the industry, keeping costs and prices low.
The problem these stores are meant to address is massive: According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 53.6 million people, or 17.4 percent of the population, live in low-income areas with low access to grocery stores—defined as a half mile in urban communities and 10 miles in rural communities. As consolidation continues to shrink the grocery sector, the number of people without easy access to a store is likely to increase.

Now the idea of public grocery stores has entered the crowded race for New York City mayor. Zohran Mamdani, a socialist candidate and current state assemblyman, has said that if elected he would create a pilot program to put a city-owned grocery store in every borough.
Mamdani said in an interview that the stores can offer lower prices on staples at a time when food costs are rising due to inflation, bird flu, climate change, and other shocks. Prices could rise further with President Trump’s tariffs. And low-income Americans will struggle even more if Republicans follow through on plans to cut benefits like food stamps.

Low-income residents of food deserts are more likely to suffer from diet-related diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
At least 3 million New York City residents live in neighborhoods without easy access to fresh food. In one of the neighborhoods Mamdani represents in Queens, he said, constituents tell him there are several fast food restaurants but no grocery stores. “That speaks to the fact that New Yorkers have been failed by a market-only approach and there is a desperate need for a public option for produce,” he said.

Mamdani isn’t the only lawmaker embracing this approach to cheaper and more accessible groceries. This year, Madison, Wisconsin, is opening a city-owned grocery store in a food desert of its own. Atlanta is set to open two publicly run grocery stores, while Chicago is opening a city-run market. It’s not an entirely new concept. Erie, Kansas, has owned Stub’s Market since mid-2020, buying it when it was at risk of closing, which would have left the city without any grocery stores; city-owned grocery stores exist in two other Kansas towns, including the St. Paul Market, which manages to turn a small profit that is reinvested in store operations.

https://thefern.org/2025/03/are-government-owned-grocery-stores-the-answer-to-americas-food-desert-problem/