Do city-owned grocery stores work?

Summary

Marketplace Morning Report: "Do city-owned grocery stores work?"

Date: November 18, 2025
Host: Sabri Benishore (in for David Brancaccio)
Episode Theme:
This episode examines the economic news of the day, focusing specifically on the growing interest in city-owned grocery stores as a way to address affordability and food deserts in urban areas. The discussion includes analysis of current models, expert commentary on feasibility, and real-world examples from various U.S. cities.

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Key Segments and Discussion Points

1. China as the U.S.'s Largest Official Creditor

[01:27 - 02:39]

• Reporter: Nancy Marshall Genser
• New research from AID data (College of William and Mary) shows that China is the largest official creditor to the U.S., not just to developing countries.
• Loans from Chinese state-owned lenders have financed:
  • Airport terminals in New York and Los Angeles
  • Data centers in Northern Virginia
  • Acquisitions of high-tech U.S. companies
  • U.S. corporations such as Disney, Halliburton, Amazon, and AT&T
• While some loans help Chinese firms access critical U.S. tech, many are simply profit-driven.
• Quote:
  • "Aid data says Chinese owned lenders helped bankroll terminals at airports in New York and Los Angeles and data centers in Northern Virginia." (Nancy Marshall Genser, 02:01)

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2. Escalating Utility Bill Debt in the U.S.

[02:39 - 04:20]

• Reporter: Kimberly Adams
• New data from The Century Foundation and the nonprofit Protect Borrowers signals a surge in Americans falling behind on utility bills.
  • Nearly 14 million Americans—about 1 in 20 households—have utility debt in collections or soon will.
  • Since 2022, the average overdue utility balance rose 32% to almost $800.
  • Heating a home this winter is expected to cost 7.6% more, nearly $1,000 for the season.
• Families face tough choices among essentials: utilities, food, childcare, housing.
• Quotes:
  • "Families need electricity. That's why utilities often rank right behind home and auto loans when it comes to which bills families must pay first." (Julie Marghetta Morgan, Century Foundation, 03:22)
  • "Since 2022, the average overdue balance on utility bills climbed 32% to nearly $800 today." (Julie Marghetta Morgan, 03:34)
  • "Families must choose between paying their utility bill, higher costs for food, childcare and, you know, unaffordable housing, meaning the issue of affordability will be a personal and political issue for some time to come." (Elaine Bigelow, Georgetown Center, 04:17)

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3. Can City-Owned Grocery Stores Solve Food Deserts and Affordability?

[06:10 - 09:00]

• Host: Sabri Benishore introduces New York City Mayor Elect Zoran Mamdani and his campaign for public grocery stores as a response to urban food deserts and high food prices.
• Economic Case:
  • City-run grocery locations would dodge rent and property taxes.
  • Nevin Cohen (CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute) says public markets could reduce retail prices by 5–10%.
  • Defense Department commissaries offer groceries 15–25% below commercial chains.
• Financial Challenges:
  • Steven Zagor (Columbia Business School): City-run stores could need ongoing subsidies, similar to public transit or mail.
  • Risk of repeating failures: Kansas City's city-backed grocery closed after a decade due to low traffic attributed to area crime.
• Success Stories:
  • Baltimore:
    • Publicly supported grocery opened with $1.5 million in city/state incentives.
    • Streamlined city permitting aided long-term viability.
    • Community consultant Biff Browning on price savings from volume buying and stable contracts.
    • Quote:
      • "I would not have imagined it until I saw it. How much prices can come down when you're able not only to have a volume buy, but to have a system that allows you at the beginning of the year to say, we forecast we're going to buy this much for the year so we can lock in a price." (Biff Browning, 08:11)
  • Atlanta:
    • $6 million in public funding helped open a grocery store downtown.
    • Higher than expected sales (especially fresh produce) attributed to a public-private partnership with the local Independent Grocers Alliance.
    • Public partners acted as translators between city requirements and grocer operations.
    • Plans for further expansion.
    • Quote:
      • "Would help to serve as the translator between government and our requirements and ... what the grocer could actually deliver." (Eloisa Klementich, Atlanta Economic Development Authority, 08:51)

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Notable Quotes & Takeaways

• On Government-Run Grocery Viability:
  • "A government owned supermarket is a mission driven business at best. Maybe they'll break even, but it's probably not likely. So there would be an ongoing subsidy. Just like the mail system is subsidized, just like Amtrak is subsidized."
    — Steven Zagor (Columbia Business School), [07:12]
• On Community Impact:
  • "We wanted to make sure that not only that they had that incentive, but that they had a streamlined approach to permitting any type of city process needed."
    — Felicia Porter (Baltimore City Council), [07:49]
• On Purchasing Power and Affordability:
  • "How much prices can come down when you're able not only to have a volume buy, but ... to lock in a price."
    — Biff Browning, [08:11]

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Segment Timestamps

• China's Lending to U.S.: [01:27 - 02:39]
• Utility Bill Debt and Affordability Crisis: [02:39 - 04:20]
• City-Owned Grocery Stores Analysis: [06:10 - 09:00]
  • Expert financial analysis: [06:38 - 07:30]
  • Baltimore Model: [07:30 - 08:11]
  • Atlanta Model: [08:25 - 09:00]

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Overall Summary

This edition of Marketplace Morning Report delivers a brisk yet thorough review of affordability concerns in the U.S., from the unexpected depth of Chinese lending to American institutions, to the alarming rise in household utility debt. The centerpiece is a timely look at the renewed push for city-owned grocery stores, offering practical economic analysis, expert skepticism, and inspiration from cities experimenting with new models. The episode spotlights the complexity of tackling affordability, the necessity for public-private partnerships, and the stubborn persistence of food deserts despite good intentions.

Listeners come away with a nuanced understanding of both the promise and limits of municipal initiatives designed to make cities more livable for all residents.

Transcript

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[Sabri Benishore]

The world's biggest official creditor is China. From Marketplace, I'm Sabri Benishore in for David Brancaccio. No country borrows more from Chinese state owned lenders than the U.S. this is according to a new report from AID data. It's a research lab at the College of William and Mary. Marketplace's Nancy Marshall Ganzert has more.

[Nancy Marshall Ganzert]

A lot of attention has been given to China's Belt and Road Initiative loans Beijing makes to developing nations for infrastructure projects. But aid data says in 2023 only about a quarter of China's loan portfolio went to lower income countries, with the rest going to richer nation like the U.S. in fact, aid data says Chinese owned lenders helped bankroll terminals at airports in New York and Los Angeles and data centers in Northern Virginia. They've also financed the acquisition of high tech companies and lent to US corporations like Disney, Halliburton, Amazon and AT&T. The report also says some of these loans enabled Chinese companies to get hold of critical U.S. technologies, but many were guided by the pursuit of of profit. I'm Nancy Marshall Genser for Marketplace.

[Sabri Benishore]

Whether it is the cost of food, housing, health care, anxiety over affordability has been riling up consumers and voters. New data from a couple of progressive groups is now showing that high prices are also closing in on Americans when it comes to the basic necessities like utilities. The number of households that are late on utility bills rose almost 10% in a year. Senior Washington correspondent Kimberly Adams has more.

[Narrator/Reporter]

A new analysis out from the Century foundation and the nonprofit Protect Borrowers finds that almost 14 million Americans, about 1 in 20 households, are so far behind on their utility bills that their debt has either been sent to collections or is about to be.

[Interviewee/Expert]

Families need electricity. That's why utilities often rank right behind home and auto loans when it comes to which bills families must pay first.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Julie Marghetta Morgan is the president of the Century Foundation.

[Interviewee/Expert]

Since 2022, the average overdue balance on utility bills climbed 32% to nearly $800. Today.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The National Energy Assistance Directors association says the average cost to heat a home this winter will go up 7.6% to almost $1,000 for the season. Diana Hernandez teaches at Columbia University and studies energy insecurity.

[Interviewee/Expert]

You know you have a rising cost burden. You also have less kind of certainty around the typical sources of support, like.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Funding for energy assistance programs delayed due to the shutdown. Elaine Bigelow runs the Georgetown center on Poverty and Inequality.

[Interviewee/Expert]

Families must choose between paying their utility.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Bill higher costs for food, childcare and, you know, unaffordable housing, meaning the issue of affordability will be a personal and political issue for some time to come. In Washington, I'm Kimberly Adams for Marketplace.

[Podcast Sponsor Announcer]

This podcast is supported by Odoo. Some say Odoo business management software is like fertilizer for businesses because the simple, simple, efficient software promotes growth. Others say Odoo is like a magic Beanstalk because it scales with you and is magically affordable. And some describe Odoo's programs for manufacturing, accounting and more as building blocks for creating a custom software suite. So Odoo is fertilizer Magic Beanstalk building blocks for business Odoo exactly what businesses need. Sign [e-mail] that's o d o o.com.

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[Sabri Benishore]

New York City Mayor Elect Zoran Mamdani swept the election on a campaign that was all about affordability in one of the most expensive places to live in the country. One pillar of that platform was the idea of city owned grocery stores in food deserts. Prices at these city owned stores would be lower, the thinking goes, because they'd operate in city owned spaces and so wouldn't have to pay rent or property taxes. Other cities have tried this. Marketplace's Carla Javier reports.

[Interviewee/Expert]

If you take rent, property taxes and the need to earn profits out of the equation, Nevin Cohen of the CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute says supermarkets can cut costs for consumers.

[Additional Expert/Commentator]

Some estimates are that a public supermarket could shave 5 to 10% off the retail price.

[Interviewee/Expert]

Cohen says the commissaries the Department of Defense runs operate along similar lines and offer groceries for 15 to 25% less than commercial supermarkets. But Steven Zagor at Columbia Business School says there could be a long term cost to the city.

[Additional Expert/Commentator]

A government owned supermarket is a mission driven business at best. Maybe they'll break even, but it's probably not likely. So there would be an ongoing subsidy. Just like the mail system is subsidized, just like Amtrak is subsidized.

[Interviewee/Expert]

The idea has a mixed record. A city backed grocery store in Kansas City, Missouri closed its doors earlier this year after almost 10 years of municipal investment. Customer traffic at the store had reportedly collapsed due to crime in the neighborhood. But in Southwest Baltimore, a publicly supported store has been open for about a year. City Council member Felicia Porter says the city and state offered more than $1.5 million in incentives. We wanted to make sure that not only that they had that incentive, but that they had a streamlined approach to permitting any type of city process needed. The result has impressed Biff Browning, a neighbor and a community consultant to the store.

[Podcast Sponsor Announcer]

I would not have imagined it until I saw it. How much prices can come down when you're able not only to have a volume buy, but to have a system that allows you at the beginning of the year to say, we forecast we're going to buy this much for the year so we can lock in a price.

[Interviewee/Expert]

In Atlanta, the Economic development authority offered $6 million in grants and loans to attract a grocery store downtown. The authority's Eloisa Clementich says the public private partnership opened about two months ago and has been bringing in higher than expected sales, especially for fresh produce. She says the strategy has been to work with the local independent Grocers Alliance.

[Narrator/Reporter]

So it was this third party that.

[Interviewee/Expert]

Would help to serve as the translator.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Between government and our requirements and what we and then what the grocer could actually deliver.

[Interviewee/Expert]

Klementich says the partners are hoping to open another grocery store using a similar model next year. I'm Carla Javier from Marketplace.

[Sabri Benishore]

Our producers are Tamar Fagan, Ashley Rodriguez, Ariana Rosas and Erica Soderstrom. Our senior producer is Alex Schroeder. Our supervising senior producer is Meredith Garrettson Morby. And in New York, I'm Sabri Benishore with the Marketplace Place morning reports. From APM American Public Media.

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