Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration passed on applying for state funding for a city-owned grocery store, raising questions about the future of the bold proposal the mayor floated more than a year ago. Johnson first raised the idea of a publicly owned grocery store in September 2023. He framed the idea as a way to improve food access on the city’s South and West sides, where supermarket closures have left many residents with limited access to fresh groceries in their neighborhoods. Activists who see groceries as a public good akin to a city water department or post office have long supported the concept.