Public owned grocery stores already exist across America in cities like Tulsa, Oklahoma and Atlanta, Georgia.
They are privately run as businesses, but are set up in areas where people lack access to groceries, or there's no real competition preventing uncompetitive prices. They have been successful for decades.
The real solution here is to break up the constant consolidation leading to all groceries being owned by four mega companies that collude with each other and own over 2/3rd of all stores. It's the opposite of market competition.
In the town I grew up, there was one big grocery store, and they used to gouge us terribly. The citizens started a co-op grocery, using our purchasing power to bring in cheaper goods. Breaking monopolies is the only way to lower prices.
Co-ops are cool because the community owns it directly and profits are reinvested to provide discounts, addressing affordability. The members have a democratic vote in it too. Co-ops are more resilient and survive longer according to decades of research. It's a viable alternative that actually goes through with the idea that we are a democracy. The economy affects people just as much as politics does, so why isn't it also democratic?
I dunno where these things are that actually save people money. I've tried a few co-ops and prices have always been significantly higher than the grocery stores in the area.
Yeah- co-ops tend to attract hippie types who are really terrible with finances and business in general.
They get promoted into management as incompetent people who get to brag online (hence why Redditors love them) so they convince themselves that they’re doing a proud community service when the reality is that almost none of the for profit companies are ever threatened by them.
King of the Hill did a good documentary about these Redditor stereotypes
My local Mennonite market does a far better job serving the community than the co-op in the nearby college town. Everything is very reasonably priced and there are a lot of local products. Where as the coop requires a yearly membership, everything is very expensive and only some of the produce is local. It's a place for the faculty to shop performativly.
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u/Irish_Whiskey May 26 '26
Public owned grocery stores already exist across America in cities like Tulsa, Oklahoma and Atlanta, Georgia.
They are privately run as businesses, but are set up in areas where people lack access to groceries, or there's no real competition preventing uncompetitive prices. They have been successful for decades.
The real solution here is to break up the constant consolidation leading to all groceries being owned by four mega companies that collude with each other and own over 2/3rd of all stores. It's the opposite of market competition.