Newark Is Opening 5 Mamdani-Style Grocery Stores For Local Residents

NEWARK, NJ — The era of “Mutal Aid Grocery Stores” has begun in New Jersey’s largest city.

On Thursday, community leaders in Newark held a ribbon cutting ceremony at 312 New Street to mark the official opening of five low-cost community supermarkets – one for each ward of the city.

According to the mayor’s office, the new grocery stores will allow local residents to purchase food and home supplies at a price that is 30 percent below wholesale cost.

The stores will also serve as a neighborhood hub for support and resources for “working poor” – households that earn too much to rely on emergency aid but who still can’t cover the price of groceries.

Similar efforts to create publicly owned grocery stores in New York City under the Mamdani administration have run into legal challenges from critics who argue that taxpayer-funded discounts could drive nearby private stores out of business.

However, there’s a big twist that separates Newark’s efforts from other community supermarkets across the nation, officials say: the city won’t be the one running them.

Instead, five different community groups will be operating the supermarkets: La Casa de Don Pedro, Clinton Hill Community Action, United Community Corporation, Montana Global / Ironbound Community Corporation, St. James.

The locations include:

• North Ward – 39 Broadway Avenue
• South Ward – 393 Hawthorne Avenue
• West Ward – 503 Central Avenue
• East Ward – 296 Ferry Street
• Central Ward – 312 New Street

The new stores come after the success of emergency Food Hubs that were set up in each of the five wards during the government shutdown last winter, city officials said.

Mayor Ras Baraka has been among those pushing to make the program permanent.

In August, the mayor joined a virtual “people’s assembly” to discuss the new grocery stores alongside the groups that will be running them. According to Baraka and other speakers at the forum, the stores are an expansion – not a replacement – of the city’s existing network of food pantries, farmers markets, urban gardens and other local resources.

• Related: Newark Food Pantry Shines After Supermarket-Style Makeover

Meanwhile, the stores will give shoppers a dignified experience similar to what they’d encounter at a local Shop-Rite or other chain store.

Since the partners are stocking their shelves with joint purchases, shoppers will find the same food – and the same prices – across the city.

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Supporters have pointed out that large swaths of Newark have been designated as “food deserts,” places where it’s difficult to find fresh and healthy choices on the shelves.

City officials have been sharing video clips as work on the new stores progressed over the summer.

“Opening a low-cost grocery store in every ward guarantees that every Newark resident has access to healthy, affordable food – close to home,” officials said, sharing a clip of the new store on New Street.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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