Public groceries hit the mainstream with Zohran Mamdani’s successful mayoral campaign in New York City. The good news for boosters is that it already exists at scale in the US military’s commissary system. The military commissary system underwrites the gross margins of retail operations so that retail prices are 20 to 30 percent lower than grocery prices. The military commissary generates over $5.6 billion in annual sales and leverages large-scale buying power to ensure low wholesale costs and a great selection.
The commissary system is well-loved by US service members. An army officer friend summed it up to me, saying, “Always less expensive. Good food. There should be a push for public PX-style grocers across the country.” In New York City, there is a commissary at Fort Hamilton, in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn. This market has 193 ratings on Google Maps, averaging 4.6 stars. The commissary system is proof that the government can operate efficient, popular grocery stores that customers genuinely appreciate.
https://jacobin.com/2025/11/trump-grocery-prices-public-option/
The commissary system is well-loved by US service members. An army officer friend summed it up to me, saying, “Always less expensive. Good food. There should be a push for public PX-style grocers across the country.” In New York City, there is a commissary at Fort Hamilton, in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn. This market has 193 ratings on Google Maps, averaging 4.6 stars. The commissary system is proof that the government can operate efficient, popular grocery stores that customers genuinely appreciate.
https://jacobin.com/2025/11/trump-grocery-prices-public-option/
Jacobin
How Public Groceries Can Make Food Affordable Again
Errol Schweizer, a former national vice president of grocery at Whole Foods, argues in Jacobin that the private sector is responsible for ever-rising grocery prices and can’t be relied on to fix the problem. Our food system needs a public option.