Organization Works To Help Communities Create Municipal Grocery Stores
Organization Works To Help Communities Create Municipal Grocery Stores
By Tia Carol Jones
With grocery prices continuing to increase and food assistance programs services being cut, an Illinois organization is looking at the benefits municipal grocery stores could bring to communities in the South Suburbs, as well as throughout the state of Illinois.
Economic Security Illinois, a state chapter of the Economic Security Project, was formed in 2018 as a task force charged with looking at the future of work and analyzing the economy. It was found that people were struggling with the cost of living; increases in gas prices, grocery prices and childcare prices were chipping away at family’s economic security. Economic Security Illinois found there were a few mechanisms the state was already using, in the way of tax credits, that could help families stay afloat. Guaranteed income pilots and child tax credits helped households and showed that putting cash and flexible dollars in families’ pockets helped their bottom line. Now, both the earned income credit and child tax credits provide relief for families in the state of Illinois.
Erion Malasi, Director of Illinois Policy and Advocacy at Economic Security Illinois, said the organization saw the impact of cash was prevalent in communities where there was infrastructure paired with the investments. He said what was limiting the power of the cash was people’s access to grocery stores. It opened the door to looking at municipal grocery stores, where municipalities would build systems to own or maintain infrastructure and run grocery stores, which would provide access to fresh food.
“A lot of our focus is on building an economy that works for all Americans … I am focused on building an economy that works for Illinoisans. It is important that we see an economy where folks can have access to basic necessities, and that access is affordable,” Malasi said. He added that municipal grocery stores are just a piece of the puzzle.
Malasi said that grocery stores are cornerstones of communities where they are located. When grocery stores come into a community, people have access to fresh food, and it changes foot traffic patterns and creates space for people to further invest. He said that long-term investment can lead to real change in communities that have been disinvested or underinvested.
Malasi said that municipal grocery stores would be run by a municipality where that local government would hire people to run the grocery store, create supply lines and stock shelves, with the manpower to own and operate a grocery store, which could be a supermarket that sells everything, or a string of stores that support each other by providing fresh food in a variety of communities. He said it takes about two years for a grocery store to break even and about five years for a grocery store to mature in the market.
There is already a municipal grocery store in Venice, Ill., which is in Madison County, and has a population of around more than 1,400 people. They received a grant from the state of Illinois to build the grocery store and created infrastructure that the city didn’t already have, and it was an asset of the city. The city worked with an independent operator that hired staff, stocked the shelves and ran the day-to-day operations of the grocery store. The city of Atlanta is also working to open municipal grocery stores in food deserts in Atlanta.
Malasi said municipal grocery stores would allow people to have access to fresh food, it would save time and cash. He added that a well-run, fully matured municipal grocery store could offer lower prices and create clarity about how much it costs to actually provide groceries. He said municipal grocery stores represent an investment in a community that can breed more investment. Potentially, other retailers would build next to those grocery stores because they would see the foot traffic.
“That is a cycle that creates more jobs, creates more spending, creates more investment,” he said. He added that while it doesn’t fix all of a community’s problems, it does create opportunities where there might not have been any in the past.
Malasi said that what would have to happen for municipalities in the South Suburbs to create municipal grocery stores would depend on the needs of the community, as well as the political will and desire to open a grocery store. The municipality would have to figure out who would be willing to do the work and how they would balance the books to keep the store open. He added that there are a lot of opportunities to do that in the South Suburbs, and conversely, the city of Chicago has ESIL’s feasibility study and would just need to take the time to identify the right community and the right level of investment.
For more information about ESIL and its work, visit www.economicsecurityproject.org/campaign/il/.
Latest Stories
- Resume Boot Camp Teaches Young People Career Readiness Skills
- Organization Works To Help Communities Create Municipal Grocery Stores
- Liberation Stories Shows The Narrative Power Of Social Justice Movements
- Artist Is Expanding Story Of Iconic Characters With Graphic Novel Series
- South Side Sanctuary Recognized With Community Development Award
Latest Podcast
STARR Community Services International, Inc.
