Chicago explores opening a city-owned grocery store

Chicago is exploring whether it could open its own grocery store to address food inequity.

Smaller municipalities have opened grocery stores but Chicago would be the first major city to do so.

The city is working with the non-profit Economic Security Project on a feasibility study.

“All Chicagoans deserve to live near convenient, affordable, healthy grocery options. We know access to grocery stores is already a challenge for many residents, especially on the South and West sides,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson.

“A better, stronger, safer future is one where our youth and our communities have access to the tools and resources they need to thrive. My administration is committed to advancing innovative, whole-of-government approaches to address these inequities. I am proud to work alongside partners to take this step in envisioning what a municipally owned grocery store in Chicago could look like.”

Food gap

According to estimates from the US Department of Agriculture, 63 percent of residents in Chicago’s West Englewood and 52 percent of residents in East Garfield Park live more than half a mile from their nearest grocery store. In West Town, a high-income area, less than one percent of residents experience this barrier to food access. In addition, 37 percent of black residents and 29 percent of Latino residents are food insecure, compared to 19 percent of residents overall, the city said.

At least six grocery stores on the South and West sides of Chicago have closed over the past two years, with some retailers saying the outlets were not profitable. However, the city’s approach would not necessarily be about profitability but rather the impact on residents’ lives.

“The City of Chicago is reimagining the role government can play in our lives by exploring a public option for grocery stores via a municipally owned grocery store and market,” said Ameya Pawar, Senior Advisor at Economic Security Project. “Not dissimilar from the way a library or the postal service operates, a public option offers economic choice and power to communities.

“A city-owned grocery store in the South or West side of Chicago would be a viable way to restore access to healthy food in areas that have suffered from historic and systemic disinvestment.”

The city said the impact of inadequate food retail reaches beyond food access, with grocery stores also serving as anchors in communities by employing local people and acting as catalysts for commercial activity.

Under the proposal, the city would use grants to fund the grocery store if it goes ahead.