Empty shelves and boxes are seen alongside fruit and vegetables that are being are offered for sale inside a branch of the supermarket retailer Asda on Feb. 19, 2023, in Bristol, England. (Matt Cardy / Getty Images)
By Samuel Short August 14, 2025 at 8:38am
A case study in socialism out of Kansas City, Missouri, shows how poorly New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s proposal for city-owned grocery stores would work in execution.
The Sun Fresh Market is closing its doors even after getting almost $29 million in funding from the taxpayer.
KMBC reports that the market was having trouble keeping the shelves stocked as of July. Sun Fresh opened in 2018 with Community Builders Kansas City eventually taking over operations, according to the Kansas City Star.
The outlet wrote that the city council dumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into the store this year, but nothing worked.
Shoppers reported violence, drug use, and public sex acts in the store. Young people stocking shelves were so concerned for their safety that they had to carry tasers. Community Builders Kansas City CEO Emmet Pierson Jr. commented on the situation, “My staff is in jeopardy every single day.”
The Washington Post reported that at a community meeting last year, security footage from the store was shown, along with a warning for graphic content.
Viewers saw a naked woman throwing potato chips around the store, one person urinating, and a couple being physical on the library lawn.
KMBC reported in July that shoppers at Sun Fresh, if they were brave enough to go, were greeted by mostly empty shelves. Any food that was left was rotting or expired.
Michaelle Randolph, a local shopper, described her experience. “The milk, I am scared to buy some,” she said.
Would socialized grocery stores work in New York City?
“Even the dates, they may have a few days over. I don’t want to buy that.”
John Murphy, another local, spoke about the smell. “It’s a rancid odor. I think something is dead or something’s gone bad.”
It’s no surprise Sun Fresh Market did not last. Who would want to shop at a place that is unsafe and full of gross, deranged people, only to be met with rotting, awful food?
Where is the motivation to keep a store like this in top shape? It’s nonexistent under public ownership. There is no incentive.
Sun Fresh Market also proves food scarcity is not some awful scheme by evil elites to starve the poor. Grocers want to sell their product, but why would they try to in such an awful place? It’s better to take your business elsewhere.
Be mindful that this is Kansas City. Imagine how much of a disaster this would be in a place like New York City.
Anyone who knows the history of the 20th century could have already predicted this idea would be disastrous in execution. Putting the food supply under public ownership creates scarcity. In the worst cases, this leads to famine on a massive scale.
Mamdani has to be the most economically inept public official in recent memory in the United States for thinking this will work.
It will not. It will be a complete disaster.
Sam Short is an Instructor of History with Motlow State Community College in Smyrna, Tennessee. He holds a BA in History from Middle Tennessee State University and an MA in History from University College London. The views expressed in his articles are his own and do not reflect the views or opinions of Motlow State Community College.
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