Could a town-owned grocery store solve Stafford’s problems?

Before I even moved to Stafford, friends warned me that the townspeople were unhappy about their local grocery options. I was coming from Woodstock where there were no local grocery options so it wasn’t a concern. Fast forward a few years to when I texted those same friends that I’d just left Trader Joe’s in Manchester with several bags of groceries for $60 and was shocked—Big Y would have cost double that amount. I was now, officially, a Staffordite. 

But lately, there’s also been a lot of talk about ways the Town can bring in money other than taxes. At the same time, down in New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani is working toward opening city-owned, public grocery stores to combat high grocery prices. And it all gave me an idea. Could a town-owned grocery store be just what Stafford needs?

Don’t get me wrong; I don’t believe for a second this will ever happen. First of all, it would take an investment that I doubt the public would ever approve.Then there’s the crowd that would immediately start screaming about socialism and never even consider how a town-owned grocery story could benefit them and their neighbors. But I still thought it would be a fun thought experiment.

Imagine if the Town took the old Witt School, maybe the dry cleaner building on East Main Street, or any other vacant building in downtown and transformed it into a place where people could not only buy their groceries at below market value, but did not need a car to do it.

Now, I know you probably saw the words “below market value” and panicked. This would need to be a money-making venture for Stafford, and it could be—even when you sell goods below market value. How? Well, most publicly traded companies in this country are beholden to their shareholders first and foremost. Not their workers. Not their customers. Their main goal is to maximize profit for shareholders. If that means price gouging (or sending jobs overseas), then that’s what they have to do and it’s why everything is so damn expensive. 

We’ve seen the idea of B Corps and Public Benefit Corporations rise up to combat this and put corporate responsibility back on the table. But, if the Town owned and operated the grocery story, none of this would matter. The goal would be to make enough profit to help pad the municipal coffers while providing a competitive alternative to local options. They simply don’t have to mark up the products as much as the competition. 

You may not be able to buy 100 varieties of chips but you could buy the basics. Think of it like an Aldi’s, where your selection is limited and everything is cheaper for it. 

And as I’ve been writing this, getting more and more dismayed that this option would never even be considered—nevermind implemented—another thought has occurred to me. Why don’t more food banks do this? 

Open a non-profit grocery store that provides more affordable food options for those who can afford to pay something, and then use the revenue to support stocking food pantry shelves for those who can’t. It is just about the most wholesome business model I can think of. My husband used to work on a farm that operated on a similar model; it sold shares to members to support growing fresh, organic produce for food banks. 

If it can work for farmers, it can certainly work for retailers.