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The city of Newark, N.J., last week celebrated the opening of five non-profit community grocery stores that are partially funded by the city.
The city said that the success of the emergency food hubs that were set up during the government shutdown last November led to the establishment of the permanent grocery stores. Four of the five stores are located in areas designated as food deserts, according to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. More than half of the city’s population lives in one of those areas.
The stores are offering a full range of perishables and shelf-stable grocery items at up to 25% to 30% above wholesale costs. All five locations will soon accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) benefits, the city said in a statement.
“Food access at an affordable price is a simple good that all Newarkers, and all people, deserve,” said Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.
The five grocery stores are located in each of the city’s five wards and are run by local nonprofit groups that already operate in the areas where their stores are located. The nonprofit groups include the United Community Corp., St. James Social Service Corp., Montena Global Care, La Casa de Don Pedro and Clinton Hill Community Action. Each received $250,000 in city funding, which is slated to be renewed every year, according to local reports.
Newark’s Office of Sustainability, Resilience and Community Transformation will oversee the community grocery store program but will not own or operate the stores.
“While we have never operated a grocery store, we certainly know how to ‘do’ food,” said Vesta Godwin Clark, executive director of the St. James Social Service Corp. “Each year, we distribute more than 401 tons of food through our Emergency Food Pantry and Soul Food Café soup kitchen, helping thousands of individuals and families throughout our community.”
New York City plan attracts lawsuits
The opening of the stores comes as Mayor Zohran Mamdani of neighboring New York City is moving forward with plans to open five city-owned grocery stores in each of the city’s five boroughs. Unlike the Newark program, the New York City plan calls for the city to develop and own the properties and operate them with the help of a for-profit grocery company. The stores would not have to pay rent or taxes.
Last week the National Supermarket Association and two of its retail members filed a lawsuit to block the New York City effort, accusing the city of violating antitrust laws and creating an unfair competitive advantage. The Multicultural Business Coalition also filed a suit to block the city’s plan last month.
There did not appear to be any reports of opposition to the Newark plan. A spokesperson for the New Jersey Food Council, which represents grocery stores in the state, could not be reached for comment.
Meanwhile Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker last week unveiled $26 million in grants for the Illinois Grocery Initiative, which could fund the reopening of grocery stores that have closed in the last 12 months and provide other financing for new grocery stores and equipment.
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