New York City Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s plan to create city-owned grocery stores has been tried, and failed, in Kansas City, Missouri. Mamdani wants to address the issue with “food deserts” which are communities without a grocery store nearby. To fix this problem, Mamdani proposes city-owned grocery stores that do not take profit or rent and pass those savings down to the customer. The problem with initiatives like this is that they never work. Food deserts exist because the surrounding community cannot support a grocery store. As soon as such a place opens, there will be problems with shoplifting and outright waste of food. The money that will be pumped into it would be a lot less than the current system of welfare or a program like “Meals on Wheels” which brings food directly to senior citizens who have mobility issues.
“Sun Fresh” in Kansas City, Missouri, is a good case study for the type of grocery store that Mamdani has recommended. This place is city-owned and funded with some of the funding even coming from the Federal Government. Residents complain about foul odors, a lack of fresh food, and a lack of any other type of food on the shelves. City officials say they are trying to remedy the situation by communicating with the non profit behind it and reallocating funds. The reality is that the store will never work properly because profit does not appear to be the motive. It is in a poor area that cannot sustain the store. It will be of lesser quality than anything somewhat nearby, so the people who have money to go a little further out will simply do that and leave that store to waste. This is the same thing that will happen in New York City if, God forbit, Zohran becomes Mayor of New York City.
SOURCES:
IN DEPTH: Millions invested in shopping center; why is Sun Fresh Market failing? – YouTube
The post Zohran Mamdani’s City-Owned Grocery Store Idea Has Been Tried (And Failed) In Kansas City, Missouri appeared first on Anthony Brian Logan.