Socialist Uprising: Chicago Plans to Launch City-Run Grocery Stores
As grocery store chains such as Aldi, Walmart, and Whole Foods have fled Chicago due to an increase in theft, Chicago is planning to launch a city-run grocery store.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has commissioned a study looking into creating grocery stores operated by the City of Chicago.
HR&A Advisors did the study, and the research concluded that Chicago could establish three stores in the city to combat “food deserts” in the Windy City.
The Chicago Sun Times revealed the report reads, “In the absence of private sector action or commitment to provide sustainable grocery options, it is necessary for the city to play a role in creating and sustaining grocery services in neighborhoods that lack grocery access.”
In a post on X, Johnson wrote, “My administration aims to tackle food inequity with a network of three City-owned grocery stores, offering equitable access to fresh, healthy food in underserved communities.”
The move by Johnson was a step by Chicago to implement a communist system where the city or state owned the production and distribution of food, which history shows us ended disastrously.
My administration aims to tackle food inequity with a network of three City-owned grocery stores, offering equitable access to fresh, healthy food in underserved communities.
Chicago will lead the way with a new approach to fighting food insecurity.https://t.co/EuSDAiEdNC
— Mayor Brandon Johnson (@ChicagosMayor) August 8, 2024
Per Fast Company:
Aldi, Whole Foods, Walmart, Save a Lot: These grocery stores have become a sad commentary on the challenges facing historically disinvested communities in Chicago. In the past few years, all these franchises have shuttered locations, citing financial challenges, with six stores closing in the last two years alone. Residents have grown increasingly frustrated at efforts to bring better food to their neighborhoods.
That’s why Chicago is making plans to potentially open a store of its own. Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office commissioned a feasibility study, delivered earlier this month, looking into the idea of establishing a city-run grocery store, which would make Chicago the first major U.S. city to do so. The report, by HR&A Advisors, found that the city could establish a three-store network that would fill its food deserts for $26.7 million in upfront investment.
“There are places in both urban and rural communities where the market doesn’t meet the moment,” says Ameya Pawar, a former Chicago alderman who now works for the Economic Security Project, a nonprofit focused on fighting inequality. “What we need in communities is banks and grocery stores and pharmacies that are permanently tethered to the community. The demands of shareholders shouldn’t be tied to the health and wellbeing and lifespan of local stakeholders.”
$26.7M for government-owned grocery stores. https://t.co/O0VvwNHV07
What could possibly go wrong?!#Chicago pic.twitter.com/57a2EM7SoC
— Jen (@IlliniJen) August 8, 2024
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