Two Boston metropolis councilors are taking a web page out of the New York Metropolis socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s playbook with a push for government-run grocery shops.
Councilors Liz Breadon and Ruthzee Louijeune, the Council president, plan to introduce a listening to order Wednesday “to discuss the role of publicly-owned grocery stores in addressing food insecurity.”
Their order mentions that many Boston residents dwell in areas categorized as meals deserts, with out entry to a close-by grocery retailer, and have seen their family budgets strained by rising meals costs for the reason that pandemic — necessitating a better have a look at “sustainable public-sector interventions.”
“Publicly-owned grocery stores can be structured to prioritize community benefit over profit, enabling lower prices, better food access, and stronger local sourcing, and may operate independently or in partnership with nonprofits, cooperatives, or private operators,” Breadon and Louijeune wrote within the order.
The councilors cited a September 2025 Boston Indicators report that highlighted how latest federal cuts to the Supplemental Diet Help Program, extra generally often called SNAP, “could put tens of thousands of Greater Boston residents at risk of losing benefits or facing new barriers to food access.”
Such knowledge, they wrote, underscores “the importance of local strategies to ensure equitable access to affordable, healthy food.”
The councilors’ listening to order states that different cities and cities throughout the nation have piloted or proposed publicly-owned or supported grocery shops.
Breadon and Louijeune don’t point out any municipalities by title however their proposal for Boston follows what has been pitched by the New York Metropolis mayoral frontrunner Mamdani.
The Democratic socialist candidate needs to open 5 government-run grocery shops in New York to supply low-cost meals to underserved residents.
Breadon and Louijeune are pushing for a Boston Metropolis Council listening to on the matter with representatives of metropolis businesses, together with the Workplace of Meals Justice, GrowBoston, and the Boston Public Health Fee; community-based organizers and related stakeholders, together with members of the general public.
