City-backed nonprofit grocery stores have come to Newark, with 30% discounts

Inside a small mural-covered building on New Street in Newark’s Central Ward, a carton of a dozen eggs is on sale for $1.69.

The building houses one of five community grocery stores now open in Newark — one serving each of the city’s wards — offering food and essential goods at 30% below wholesale costs. Those same eggs would cost on average elsewhere more than $2 for the dozen, according to data from the Federal Reserve.

It’s a modest savings on its own. But apply that discount to an entire grocery list, and the savings grow.

“You can take [the savings] and put back into your rent, into your mortgage, into your bills, into your child’s education, or to your trip to Atlantic City,” said Khaatim Sherrer El, the executive director of Clinton Hill Community Action, one of the local nonprofits now operating the stores.

The South Ward community grocery store was the first of the cohort, opening its doors in 2024. It became the example that Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said he wanted to see replicated citywide, and it has drawn recognition beyond Newark. The remaining locations opened in recent weeks — and local elected officials and nonprofit leaders celebrated the initiative on Thursday, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Central Ward location.

The community grocery stores are owned and operated by local nonprofits, with each being supported by $250,000 in city funding. Baraka said the nonprofits and the city continue to seek philanthropic funding to support the stores, but he said the city funding will remain for the foreseeable future.

“The city is committed every year to seeding this so it continues to function,” Baraka said.

The Newark stores will soon accept SNAP and WIC benefits, according to Baraka’s office. Each store may have different hours based on the preference of its operator, and some will require appointments for shopping. The discounts at the Newark stores are comparable to those New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has promised at the city-run grocers he plans to open.

The Newark locations are small, and the inventories are curated to prioritize necessities.

“ We can’t replace ShopRite, so don’t think you going to see everything that you see in ShopRite here,” said Vesta Godwin Clark, the executive director of the St. James Social Service Corporation. “But you’re going to see the things that are staple items that we believe that the community needs.”

Baraka said the stores are key to Newark’s efforts to combat food insecurity. All five of the city’s wards are considered by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority to be among New Jersey’s most severe food deserts. The local difficulties accessing food are exacerbated by new work requirements for SNAP recipients rolled out under President Donald Trump, which have led many people to lose their benefits.

Nearly 40,000 New Jerseyans have lost SNAP benefits since the work rules took effect, including 1,936 in September alone.

The nonprofits operating the stores are all established in their neighborhoods and have histories of running food assistance programs. United Community Corporation, for example, also runs a food pantry in the West Ward that is set up to resemble a grocery store.

“I come from a very poor family in Jersey City, so places like this, they would’ve seen us,” said Craig Mainor, executive director of United Community Corporation. “They would know me by name because my mother would send me to this type of store or a food pantry. “She would make me walk 20 blocks to save that dollar because the dollar meant something to our family.”

The South Ward store serves as a model for the expansion throughout the city. Earlier this summer, Gov. Mikie Sherrill chose that store to be the location of her signing ceremony for a law banning the use of personal data and algorithms to set grocery prices in New Jersey.

“What we did, and what will soon come to all of the grocery stores across the city, is our membership model,” Sherrill said. “Just like you go to Costco and you pay for a membership, you’re going to pay for a membership in your own community, and that membership is going to help people who need a little bit of help. So we can offer them a little bit of a discount with the little bit of help that you provide. That’s what makes this mutual aid.”

Brenda Rosembert, a Newark resident living in senior housing, said she’s been a regular at the South Ward store, which has helped her manage her finances. She said she’s excited to see the other locations open now.

“ When you go to a big supermarket, and you have your budget, and that budget, you always go over it. You always go over it,” Rosembert said. “With this grocery store, you can get more items for your buck. So I really like that.”

Brick City’s community grocery stores come as New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani is working to get city-owned grocery stores open across the river. Baraka said Mamdani’s vision is “an incredible idea,” but said he believes keeping Newark’s stores owned and operated by local nonprofits will protect them if the city’s political winds shift in the future.

“ Elected officials change and policies change. I mean, I’m not promised to be here forever,” said Baraka, who this year began his fourth term as mayor. “Somebody else will be here, and we want this to live beyond me. So if the community owns it, then the community makes the determination how long it stays.”

Karen Yi contributed reporting.