Prince George’s County Council hears potential path for county-owned grocery store

Prince George’s County Council members were briefed Tuesday on preliminary findings about the possibility of opening a county-owned grocery store.

Officials have undertaken other efforts in recent years to address accessibility to affordable groceries, such as free food pantries at county libraries. County residents face the highest rate of food insecurity compared to neighboring jurisdictions across the capital region, according to a September report from the Capital Area Food Bank.

Arian Albear, the Council’s director of legislative impact, delivered the feasibility study during the legislative session Tuesday.

The study’s findings suggested the county assemble a task force to find ways to begin a targeted pilot program.

Some guidances from the findings include prioritizing communities with limited access to supermarkets — areas often called food deserts — and finding an operating model that blends public ownership with a private operator, Albear said at the meeting. He also suggested the findings indicate the county should consider how long it will provide resources and county-owned properties to any such project.

“The key question is how much public support would be necessary to achieve meaningful price reductions for residents, and whether that support could be clearly defined and limited,” Albear said.

Officials cited New York City’s model, where the planned rollout of publicly owned grocery stores has become contentious.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani plans to create five city-owned stores by 2030, which will be operated by private third-parties, in an effort to lower prices for residents. The stores are meant to supplement existing grocery stores and the city has committed $17 million in capital funding, according to Albear.

But critics have claimed these outposts would harm smaller markets, some of which are owned by Latino, Arab and Asian residents. One group filed a lawsuit in August to stop the city-owned grocery project, saying that it would discriminate against these communities.

The likely new mayor of D.C., Janeese Lewis George, has suggested opening a publicly-owned grocery store within the nation’s capital.

Lewis George, who won the Democratic primary in the deep-blue District and is favored to win election in November, said during an April debate that such an option would be on the table if other paths don’t adequately serve the majority Black communities east of the Anacostia River. Residents in D.C.’s Wards 7 and 8, which border Prince George’s County, have faced issues with access to grocery stores.

Prince George’s Council Chair Krystal Oriadha signaled her support from the dais for piloting a county-owned grocery store. She introduced the resolution last year to conduct the feasibility study.

“What we know is we see food insecurity at a high rate,” Oriadha said. “And whatever our solution is, it’s going to be a mixed solution.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as “a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life.” Prince George’s residents reported a 56% rate of food insecurity in September’s Capital Area Food Bank report. This metric has steadily increased since 2022 and has surpassed a level seen at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the report.

Oriadha cited her district’s library food pantry and free food pantries across the northern, central and southern parts of the county.

“But then there’s another level outside of just the free pantry or food distribution model that we need to consider,” Oriadha said. “Where people just need a little assistance because what we’re seeing is such an increased price on basic things: eggs, milk, meats.”

Oriadha said she plans to introduce a resolution to create the internal task force at next week’s county council meeting.

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