There are some businesses we cannot afford to lose. Our supermarkets and grocers are among them.
For generations, New Jersey’s supermarkets have been cornerstones of our communities. They provide first jobs for young people, employ people with disabilities, establish lifelong careers for our neighbors, support local organizations and charities, donate to our food banks, step up during emergencies, and ensure all families have convenient access to fresh, nutritious and affordable food.
Every single day, supermarkets feed New Jersey as the lifeline of our communities.
We often describe the food retail industry as “essential.” But after everything we experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic and since, supermarkets and their workforce have proven to be “beyond essential.”
That is why policymakers should be concerned about a troubling trend: New Jersey communities are losing grocery stores – 28 of them over the last two years.
Shuttering supermarkets has consequences. These statewide closures are responsible for the loss or displacement of almost 5,000 good-paying NJ jobs, fewer employment opportunities, reduced community support, compromised giving programs, vacant commercial properties, and less economic activity. Most importantly, it means fewer places for families to purchase affordable, healthy food close to home.
As an example, Red Bank experienced these consequences firsthand with the closure of Super Foodtown on Broad Street in May, leaving borough residents without the only full-service supermarket in town, which had served it for five decades. Yes, the vibrant community of Red Bank is now a food desert.
This trend comes as New Jersey’s broader employment picture is also raising concerns. According to the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, payrolls in the state declined by 25,600 jobs in July. June’s numbers were revised downward from an initially reported loss of 300 jobs to a loss of 4,200. Over the past year, the state lost 19,600 non-farm jobs, including 20,000 private-sector jobs. Grocery store job losses are contributing to these numbers.
At precisely the moment New Jersey should be strengthening employers that provide stable jobs and indispensable services, we are enacting policies that add costs, restrictions, and uncertainty for local neighborhood businesses.
Within the last year, policies coming out of Trenton include restrictions on shopper promotions, a large employer Medicaid tax, limitations on the use of independent contractors, and moratoriums on technology that makes supermarkets more efficient at a time when retailers are facing significant operating pressures. Now a new proposal to penalize self-checkout stands is being considered. When does it end?
While other business sectors are modernizing operations to compete, these policies target grocers and discourage investment and adoption of technologies that can help food retailers improve efficiency, enhance the customer experience, strengthen security, and remain competitive in an increasingly innovative marketplace. These policies have significant unintended consequences that harm food retailers and their customers.
As NJ food retailers employ more than 200,000 New Jerseyans, these laws and enacted proposals raise operating costs at a time when businesses are already confronting significant affordability pressures.
No single regulation, mandate, tax or fee causes a supermarket to close.
This is precisely the point: We need to examine the cumulative impact of public policy.
Food retailers operate on notoriously thin margins while facing rising costs for labor, energy, transportation, tariffs, insurance, construction, security and goods. Layer enough additional costs and restrictions onto that business model, and food stores quickly become economically unsustainable.
The government cannot simply lament another supermarket closure after the doors are locked. We need to prevent those closures whenever possible.
We are not asking the government to abandon consumer protections or legitimate public concerns. We are asking policymakers to consider a fundamental question with every proposal: Will this policy make it more difficult for New Jerseyans to access groceries, and will it harm our local supermarkets?
The continued loss of NJ grocery stores serves as a dire warning.
New Jersey needs a deliberate strategy to protect and strengthen its food retail industry. That means bringing supermarket operators to the table before policies are enacted, evaluating the cumulative cost of government mandates, and recognizing supermarket viability and access as community and economic priorities.