Chicago’s Mayor Brandon Johnson has announced the city has begun a feasibility study to determine whether it could open a municipally owned grocery store in an underserved neighborhood on the South or West side of the city.
The city is working with the Economic Security Project, a national non-profit organization, on a feasibility study to create a roadmap toward opening the store. At least six grocery stores have closed on Chicago’s South and West sides over the past two years, according to the city.
“All Chicagoans deserve to live near convenient, affordable, healthy grocery options,” Johnson said in a statement. “We know access to grocery stores is already a challenge for many residents, especially on the South and West sides … I am proud to work alongside partners to take this step-in envisioning what a municipally owned grocery store in Chicago could look like.”
“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,” Ameya Pawar, senior advisor at Economic Security Project, said in a statement. “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 on 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.”
If the mayor’s plan proceeds, it would be the first time Chicago has owned a grocery store.
Access to groceries is a major problem in many neighborhoods. Over 63% of West Englewood residents and 52% of East Garfield Park residents live more than a half mile from a grocery store, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data cited by the city. Plus, the mayor said, 37% of Black residents and 29% of Latin/Hispanic residents lack access to fresh foods, compared to 19% of Chicago residents overall.