Note: This article was submitted by Mountain Lakes Highschool Students Anikait Sota & Stephen Sun
A new policy proposal in New Jersey is taking a very innovative approach to tackling the growing issue of food insecurity by offering special liquor licenses to grocery stores opening in New Jersey’s underserved communities. The Food Desert Elimination Act (A2762), proposed in 2024, aims to make it more financially viable for small businesses to set up shop in these communities to attack food deserts, areas where over 1.3 million New Jersey residents lack access to affordable, nutritious food.
How Liquor Licenses Can Change the Food Landscape
Under A2762, the first new supermarket to open in each of up to 75 designated food desert communities is eligible for a four-year property tax credit and, most importantly, a special liquor license. In New Jersey, liquor licenses are very tightly regulated and extremely valuable, often costing businesses hundreds of thousands of dollars. New Jersey can reduce a major barrier to entry and offer a new revenue stream that can help offset thin profit margins typical of grocery retail in low-income areas by granting these special liquor licenses to qualifying grocers.
This policy is designed to make grocery operations in food desserts more attractive to independent entrepreneurs and established chains. The logic is simple: with the ability to sell alcohol-a high-margin product–grocery stores can stabilize their finances, increasing their likelihood of survival and ability to thrive in communities where traditional supermarkets have been absent.
Beyond Liquor: A Comprehensive Strategy
The liquor license incentive is part of a broader package of supports. The Food Desert Elimination Act also offers tax credits, grants, and technical assistance to grocers, including help with refrigeration, digital payment systems, and the ability to accept SNAP and WIC benefits. While also supporting small businesses and local job creation, these measures are intended to make healthy food more accessible and affordable for low-income families.
Community-driven models are central to the Act’s vision. For example, in Camden, local leaders are working to launch a community-owned cooperative grocery store, leveraging these new incentives to address the deeply embedded food insecurity crisis. Research shows that co-ops and independent grocers often reinvest profits locally and are more responsive to neighborhood needs than national chains.
Challenges and Lessons from Other States
While this policy proposal is very appealing, it is important to note that financial incentives alone cannot solve food insecurity and poverty. For instance, in states like Illinois and Pennsylvania, new supermarkets in food deserts struggled with real estate constraints, startup costs, and competition from discount chains, even with public support. Small businesses, in particular, faced challenges such as access to capital, regulatory complexity, and building customer loyalty in communities where trust in new institutions takes time to develop.
Furthermore, simply placing a supermarket in a food desert does not guarantee healthier eating habits. Studies show that a physical proximity to fresh food must be paired with nutrition education, community engagement, and affordability initiatives to make an impact on dietary patterns and, overall, improve health outcomes.
A Model for Food Justice?
Despite these challenges, New Jersey’s approach is being closely watched as a potential model for other states. The Food Desert Elimination Act seeks to make food retail in underserved areas both profitable and sustainable by integrating liquor licenses with financial and technical support. The Act’s alignment with other anti-hunger policies, like the proposed NJ Bill A3123 to expand free school meals, reflects a systems-level approach to food insecurity. This requires cross-sector collaboration and long-term planning.
The success of this policy will depend on ongoing support for small businesses, community involvement, and careful monitoring of both economic and health outcomes. If successful, New Jersey could turn its food deserts into zones of opportunity. While revitalizing local economies, creative policies like these can address the root causes of food insecurity.
