Should St. Pete have city-owned grocery stores?

Thousands of residents in South St. Petersburg lack access to healthy food, and officials continue searching for solutions to a complex, persistent problem.

A city council committee held a long-awaited discussion Thursday on the feasibility of establishing municipally owned grocery stores. However, many similar initiatives nationwide have struggled to find success.

The One Community Grocery Co-op (OCGC) presents an intriguing alternative. While officials will continue exploring the city’s role, the committee unanimously expressed support for OCGC’s vision of creating a community-owned grocery store.

“If we’re not going to find something that is sustainable and will last well beyond all of us, I don’t even want to start it,” Gabbard said. “That is where a co-op comes forward … It’s such a natural way for us to solve these problems.

“I certainly support the city-owned piece of it. I just think here in St.Petersburg, it’s going to look a little bit different than what some of these other places have tried.”

A map highlighting an area of South St. Petersburg that lacks access to healthy foods.

Community members pay a fee to join and democratically control a grocery cooperative (co-op). Individual OCGC shares cost $225, payable in $25 monthly installments.

A grassroots movement to create a community-owned grocery store began in 2017. The co-op has grown by 90% since February 2024, said board member Erica Hardison, and now boasts roughly 140 members.

However, OCGC still has a long road to opening a brick-and-mortar store. The organization requested $50,000 to attend a national conference in Michigan and support for a market feasibility study, site evaluations, business planning and critical community engagement.

Councilmember Gina Driscoll noted the conference is next month, and the “small funding request would have to move rather quickly.” She added that sponsoring technician assistance and coaching from national experts “could be helpful for us, as well as the organization.”

“One of the benefits of a co-op is that government stays out of the way,” Driscoll said. “I think the place for government is to support that and get it launched.”

The presentation began by highlighting various city-owned grocery store models throughout the nation. Most exist in rural areas and face stiff competition from retail conglomerates.

Brian Caper, economic and workforce development director, said the concept remains rare despite gaining in popularity. Most close within three years, “with only a couple of exceptions.”

The City of Chicago leased municipally owned buildings to private grocers after realizing the challenges. Caper said the City of Baldwin, a small town outside of Jacksonville, closed its five-year-old store in 2024 due to “challenges with pricing.”

Councilmember Richie Floyd believes St. Petersburg can find success. He noted that public-private partnerships are expensive and often fail.

The city spends $245,000 annually to provide convenience stores in underserved areas with coolers for fresh food. Baldwin allocated between $25,000 and $60,000 to its grocery store, and came close to breaking even.

Floyd said Jacksonville invested $650,000 into its public-private model. While that may “last for a while,” those operators could also “pack up and leave, the same as grocers have done to us in the past.”

“The idea that the government shouldn’t get into something is not based on finances, it’s ideological,” Floyd added. “I have my own personal ideology, but I try not to let that get in the way of making good, sound financial decisions.”

Floyd clarified that he supports OCGC’s mission and organizers, which include former Councilmember John Muhammad. He also wants to ensure “we get somewhere on this … because it’s been a long time.”

The Once Community Grocery Co-op has hosted several outreach events to increase support.

Hardison said OCGC would leverage a national network of co-ops to receive lower costs for bulk purchases. She also stressed the importance of developing relationships with local farmers “so they know what to grow and what we’re buying, so the prices will be affordable.”

The organization places membership investments into an escrow account until OCGC moves into its implementation phase. Hardison said the focus is now on creating a proof of concept and increasing its membership and customer base before launching a fundraising campaign.

“It does seem like the co-op model seems to be the best, from my standpoint,” said Council Chair Copley Gerdes. “I certainly could be talked out of that. We’re only a couple of hours into this.”

Gabbard said officials must discern their financial commitment to “solving this issue, and doing it in a really big, meaningful and impactful way.” She noted administrators are creating an enterprise fund to operate an event venue at the Manhattan Casino.

“This is a grocery store to feed everyday people,” Gabbard continued. “If we’re willing to do that for an event space, are we not willing to do that to feed our kids, to feed our seniors?”

City Administrator Rob Geders said he appreciated the positive discussion, the “consensus building around this,” and will consider OCGC’s funding request and report back to the council. Caper said the administration would also provide subject matter experts.

Driscoll said the city would also assist with site searches and evaluations. She believes officials “could get creative to get some doors open on this.”