VIDEO: A Successful Public Option for Groceries Already Exists: Military Commissaries
IPS inequality researcher Omar Ocampo recently joined several other experts for a press briefing on a “public option” for grocery stores as communities grapple with high food prices and other challenges.
Video of the press briefing was published by Errol Schweizer’s newsletter “The Checkout.” Watch the full video below, and see Omar’s remarks transcribed further down.
My name is Omar Ocampo, and I am a political scientist and a researcher at the Institute for Policy Studies, a progressive think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C.
It is our belief that access to a full-service supermarket should be guaranteed as a right to every resident in the United States. There are millions of people who live in communities that are currently underserved. Therefore it is imperative for local and state governments to establish city-owned or publiclyowned grocery stores to fill the void left by the private market. The creation of a public option for groceries will be a vital benefit to communities who suffer from food insecurity and do not have adequate access to a grocery store.
My name is Omar Ocampo, and I am a political scientist and a researcher at the Institute for Policy Studies, a progressive think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C.
Our public option model, our north star, is the U.S. military commissary system, which is a network of grocery stores owned and operated by the Department of Defense. There are 235 military commissaries across the world, and this includes the 178 stores that are currently in operation in the United States. These stores are impressive enterprises that generate $4.8 billion in sales and $5.1 billion in revenue. More importantly, they are able to deliver an average savings rate of 25.2 percent for the families who have the privilege to shop there.
So, it is no surprise that military commissaries are extremely popular and households prefer to shop there. And this is evidenced by the fact that Consumer Reports rank commissaries as one of the top supermarkets in the country and that, over the past five years, sales and total revenue continue to increase year-after-year.
This is a benefit and service that we wish to expand, and it is crucial for us to want to follow the model they have established, which is improving the quality of life of their customers by providing them with significant savings on their grocery products.
Grocery items found in military commissaries are the same as those found at large corporate retailers. The difference is that the goods are sold at cost and not for profit. In other words, there is no markup. The commissaries sell their products at the same price that they were purchased. In addition, these stores are exempt from sales taxes at the local and state level, and these savings are passed on directly to the customer.
These discounts are made possible by two factors: federal funding and the purchasing power of the U.S. military.
In the fiscal year for 2025, taxpayers directly contributed $1.57 billion to the commissaries. These resources are used to pay the salaries and wages of unionized workers employed in the grocery store, to ensure that commissaries located in remote areas remain open, and to provide a direct subsidy that lowers the prices of items at the commissary. This sustained federal funding is absolutely crucial for guaranteeing affordability and improving the economic security of households.
In the grocery business, economies of scale are of critical importance. One of the advantages that corporate retailers like Walmart have is that they are able to purchase goods in bulk, and their purchasing power allows them to negotiate favorable prices with wholesalers.
With more than 200 stores, military commissaries are also able to take advantage of the purchasing power that they wield. They are able to negotiate price concessions from wholesalers and manufacturers because of their ability to purchase goods at a high volume. This is another benefit that they pass on not to shareholders, but to their customers in the form of savings.
All of this to say that a public sector for grocery stores already exists. It not only works, but it also delivers on low prices while giving customers a premium shopping experience. This model could vastly improve food access and ease the financial strain on household budgets. It could help combat the price discrimination that is prevalent in the market.
This is why this model is seen as our north star. It provides us with examples and lessons that we can learn from as we build out a public option for groceries. These include exemptions from property taxes and rent. This is the creation of well-paid jobs where the workers are city employees. This is the strengthening of buying capacity where the city can organize a purchasing co-operative with other independent grocery stores and food co-ops to help leverage their collective purchasing power to secure the best deal with the lowest prices possible.
Public investment is essential to deliver competitive pricing and expanding food access. The return on investment is improved health outcomes, stronger neighborhoods, greater accountability to constituents, the creation of jobs, affordability, and the elimination of food insecurity. This is only possible with the creation and expansion of a public option for groceries. Thank you.
