The Public Grocery Project: Campaign to spotlight public, non-profit grocery models

Mexico has them, so does the U.S. Army. Toronto and New York City are planning to open a few. One of the Quebec parties, Québec Solidaire, is making it a campaign promise.

Public grocery stores are getting Canadians’ attention, as the cost of food is a growing concern.

Food Secure Canada, a coalition of organizations and individuals addressing food security and food sovereignty, has launched “The Public Grocery Project”.

The project combines research, a national forum and movement building.

Although it is called The Public Grocery Project, it will develop a policy tool-kit covering the models, costs, and benefits of both public and non-profit grocery stores.

Public grocery stores are government-run. In Mexico, they are owned by the central government. Canada already has provincial liquor stores and cannabis stores.

Non-profit grocery stores are community-created. It could be a cooperative model.

The two models have different governance structures and funding, but they share the same mission: to create an alternative food chain to the oligopoly.  

Analysts estimate that it would cost $350 million to open 50 Canadian public grocery stores and 6 food hubs, and to run the logistics. Then, the annual costs would be $290 million.

The Mexican chain had its ups and downs. A few American cities tried to run public grocery stores and failed, including Baldwin, Florida.

The Public Grocery Project plans to look at a range of models to explore what could work in the Canadian context.