City grocery-store owners are upset about the close proximity of licensed fruit and vegetable vendors to their shops in New York City, with some vendors located only 25 feet away from supermarkets. The National Supermarket Association, representing 600 grocers, is concerned that the vendors are drawing away customers and cutting into their profits.
The Health Department, which regulates the vendors, reports there are around 500 licensed fruit and vegetable vendors across the city, aiming to provide fresh produce to neighborhoods without easy access to healthy options.
Fashionable Forest Hills, Queens, is one area where grocers feel the competition from the vendors is especially unfair since it is not a neighborhood lacking in access to fresh fruits and vegetables. The grocers point out the costs they have to cover, such as unionized labor, property, and utility bills, making it difficult to compete with the vendors who have lower overhead costs.
Owners of supermarkets like Gristedes are frustrated with the situation, claiming that it is detrimental to their produce departments and contributes to a decline in business. They argue that the city is being anti-business by allowing this kind of competition. However, the vendors, paying a $200 annual permit fee, along with additional fees for storage, defend their presence, stating that they are not engaging in unfair competition with the grocers.
The debate between grocers and vendors has divided Forest Hills shoppers. Some, like a 75-year-old retiree named Paula, appreciate the lower prices offered by the vendors and feel that the grocers should not blame them for trying to make a living. On the other hand, shoppers like Shawn, an office worker, side with the grocers, believing that the vendors should share some of their business with the supermarkets.
The city Health Department stands by the food-vendor program, emphasizing the importance of providing a variety of food options to communities. The spokesman for the Health Department states that it is easier to make healthy choices when there is a mix of supermarkets, bodegas, farmers’ markets, and green carts available. Despite the ongoing tensions between grocers and vendors, there is no immediate resolution in sight as city officials have yet to address the concerns raised by grocers.
