“The services our city provides should be reflective of our communities’ needs. When the private market fails to feed our neighborhoods, it’s on local government to step up and find solutions that make sure everyone who lives in Minneapolis has access to food.” – Robin Wonsley, Ward 2 Council Member
Minneapolis Ward 2 Council Member Robin Wonsley is pushing for a city-owned grocery store, arguing that food access should be treated as a public utility like libraries or schools. While she secured a $200,000 budget amendment for 2026, many are questioning the long-term viability of using public funds to compete in the low-margin grocery industry. Wonsley blames “private market failures” and corporate monopolies for “food deserts”, yet it remains unclear if a government-run model can successfully navigate the logistical and financial complexities that often deter private retailers. Read the full email below, sent on December 30, 2025:
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[Name redacted],
Our public schools. Our local libraries. The millions of dollars the City of Minneapolis invests every year to maintain our streets and fill potholes. These essential services aren’t designed to turn a profit–we spend our public tax dollars on these resources because it benefits all of us.
These resources are a commitment that we value people being educated. That we value access to information. That you should be able to get from point A to point B. It’s time we treat groceries the same way: everyone in Minneapolis should have access to healthy, affordable food.
The services our city provides should be reflective of our communities’ needs. When the private market fails to feed our neighborhoods, it’s on local government to step up and find solutions that make sure everyone who lives in Minneapolis has access to food. That’s why I brought forward a budget amendment earlier this month to support the development of a city-owned grocery store:
“Access to food remains a major challenge in neighborhoods across the Twin Cities and the country. This year, several Minneapolis elected officials joined leaders in other cities to call on local governments to step in. Minneapolis’ amended city budget for 2026 includes $200,000 in one-time funding toward the development of a potentially city-owned grocery store in a food-insecure neighborhood.”
A failure by the federal government to enforce anti-trust laws has allowed just four grocery store mega chains to control half of America’s grocery spending, creating monopolies that drive up food prices while declaring vast swathes of Minnesota as not profitable for their Wall Street owners. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, 1.6 million Minnesotans have limited access to grocery stores and 16% of the state is a food desert.
The choice is clear: either the City of Minneapolis continues to allow entire neighborhoods to struggle with access to food, or we can step up to ensure equitable access to fresh, affordable food for everyone who calls our city home. The city’s current response is normalizing food deserts when we don’t have to.
In solidarity,
Robin Wonsley
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Related:
Does Minneapolis Have “Food Apartheid?”
Struggling north Minneapolis grocer North Market to close; relaunch planned for 2026
Municipal grocery stores, like the proposed one in Minneapolis, aim to address “food deserts”. If we accept that as the problem Robin’s solution is fraught with potential real issues:
* Supply chain issues: operations ran by a government entity may lack private sector agility, leading to delays or shortages (e.g., Kansas City’s failed store had empty shelves).
* Inefficiency: I can only imagine gov bureaucracy will not be helpful in being efficient. Well they actively try to learn from other grocery stores in the area? I mean there are people on businesses that have been doing this for years and years..
* Lack of free market: Reduced competition might limit innovation and variety. I think this has been an issue in some of the other attempts. I will refrain from comparing it to the breadlines in Russia LOL
*Labor issues: Union rules could increase expenses. I didn’t know what Trader Joe’s pays, but they will need to beat that I think . I imagine Robin will want to pay all the workers at least double whatever the minimum wage is
*Taxpayer costs: Initial setup ($200K budgeted in MPLS) plus subsidies could run millions annually. Again, see Kansas City as an example…
* Theft: crime can be Higher in underserved areas, requiring extra security. This has been an issue with some of the other attempts in other areas.
* Fraud. It’s a government program so of course there’s probably some way that it will attract scammers and grifters. Let’s not even get into RFP and non competitive bidding.
* Etc
Proponents often argue these can be mitigated with good Management….. But since the city has never ran a grocery store before, I’m extremely skeptical of that. Especially since Robin and most of the rest of DSA members ( like Chavez and Chuhgtai) have never ran any kind of business. It even had real jobs before.
I think our government should be seeking ways to reduce costs, considering looming budget deficits. This idea sets us on the slippery slope of expanding the government to be a provider of groceries, with the taxpayers subsidizing deficits. I will be curious as to how the 200k will be spent.
No one wants to talk about the elephant in the room. A low-margin business cannot compete where shoplifting is rampant. That problem must be solved before a grocery store can succeed.
Many of these grocery stores closed because of theft. What makes one think city-owned grocery stores won’t suffer the same fate?
I am not sure if I understand why the grocery stores that used to operate in the various parts of the city have decided to no longer operate there. If the elected officials of Minneapolis could answer this question then maybe they wouldn’t need to consider doing something they are not equipped to do.
Likely because of crime, including theft. Chain stores (Target, Cub Foods, etc) lost margin and closed. Mom and Pop stores – Mom and Pop became scared and moved / closed due to gun threats, shoplifting, etc.