Lawrence Jones | PHL City Council
Last Thursday, Philadelphia City Council introduced a package of bills designed to help city residents have better access to food.
By Denise Clay-Murray
In last week’s edition of Hanging In The Hall, I wrote about Philadelphia City Council’s Cost of Living Task Force report and the recommendations for ways that the city can make things more affordable for residents.
One of the things contained in the report, which looked at everything from housing to public transportation, was a call to implement the recommendations of the Food and Nutrition Security Task Force, chaired by Council President Kenyatta Johnson.
Among those recommendations was the creation of an office dedicated to food security, researching the possibility of municipally owned grocery stores, exploring ways the city can keep food prices from skyrocketing and developing city-wide policies designed to help Philadelphians connected to food.
During last Thursday’s Council session, a package of bills and resolutions that would implement some of these recommendations was introduced. The Philly Food Affordability Act would do the following:
*Put a resolution on the May 18, 2027, primary ballot that would create the Office of Food and Nutrition Security that would create citywide policies and strategies to help Philadelphians maintain access to food. The office would also coordinate food access initiatives, prepare for food access disruptions and enlist the community and other stakeholders in the city’s efforts to keep Philadelphians fed.
*Create an advisory commission that would provide guidance to this office and provide advice on best practices, identify the sections of the city with the most need.
*Explore the possibility of City-supported grocery stores, and
*Examine grocery pricing and consumer protection.
Right now, families are being asked to make choices they shouldn’t have to due to the high cost of food, Council President Johnson said in a news conference held at Philabundance’s warehouse in South Philadelphia. If the city can keep them from having to make these choices, it’s the least it can do, he said.
“Families across Philadelphia are feeling the squeeze from the rising cost of living, and putting food on the table should never be an impossible choice,” he said. “The Philly Food Affordability Act ensures our residents have access to healthy, affordable food in every neighborhood. We need a coordinated citywide strategy that unites government, community organizations, and the private sector to address food insecurity, strengthen our local food system, and deliver meaningful solutions for working families, seniors, and our most vulnerable residents.”
Johnson created the Food and Nutrition Security Task Force in 2024 as a way to work on the city’s food insecurity problems. A 2023 report by the non-profit Feeding America showed 210,000 city residents — 13.6% of the population — struggle with a lack of reliable food access. In communities of color, those numbers go up to 22% of Black households and 23% of Latino households. The report also showed that 25% of the city’s children experience food insecurity, something that can lead to educational and developmental challenges.
The bills now go to a yet-to-be assigned committee, and since Council passed the resolutions calling for hearings on the prospect of a city-supported grocery store and grocery pricing and consumer protection last Thursday, they’ll be scheduled soon.
Personally, the city-supported grocery store idea intrigues me.
Traditionally, to get fresh food into Philadelphia’s food deserts via a grocery store has required tax breaks, state funding and a lot of genuflecting. While New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani recently announced the site for New York’s first publicly owned grocery store and the City of Atlanta has partnered with private entities to create the Azalea Fresh Market, there’s nothing similar in the Delaware Valley.
Unless you count the commissary at Joint Base Dix/McGuire/Lakehurst, that is. And you can’t go there unless you have a military ID or someone signs you in.
At a time when families are trying to figure out how to get food on the table without taking out a loan, every idea is welcome. Once the hearings are scheduled, I’ll definitely let you know.
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