NYC Launches Municipal Grocery Store RFP at TCAH’s East New York Community Food Hub

July 27, 2026 – Today, The Campaign Against Hunger was honored to welcome Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Deputy Mayor Julie Su, NYCEDC, and city leaders to our East New York Community Food Hub for the announcement of New York City’s Request for Proposals (RFP) for the City’s municipal grocery store initiative.

The RFP marks the next major step for N.Y.C. Groceries, a network of five city-supported grocery stores, one planned for each borough. The city issued the RFP seeking grocers or firms to operate NYC Groceries, with the city, through NYCEDC, providing the “grocery-ready” sites, covering rent and property taxes, funding the initial buildout, and creating a single public brand, while establishing requirements for affordability, job quality, and transparency. Selected operators will run day-to-day operations at each location.

The initiative was first announced in April, with the administration citing that grocery prices in New York City have risen nearly 66% over the past decade, significantly outpacing the national average. Two sites have been confirmed so far: La Marqueta in East Harlem, where a 9,000-square-foot store will be built from the ground up, and The Peninsula in the Bronx, a 20,000-square-foot location expected to open in 2027 as the initiative’s first store. Mayor Mamdani has allocated $70 million in capital funding toward developing the five sites, with all locations expected to open before the end of his first term.

There was no better place to launch this conversation than a community food hub that serves more than 1 million New Yorkers each year and demonstrates what modern, community-centered food infrastructure can achieve.

At TCAH, we’ve long believed that addressing hunger requires more than emergency food. It requires investing in resilient food systems, strengthening supply chains, and ensuring every neighborhood has access to healthy, affordable food.

We applaud the City’s commitment to bold, innovative solutions that advance food equity, and we’re proud that our East New York Community Food Hub could serve as the backdrop for this milestone announcement.

Together, we’re building a stronger, more resilient food future for New York City.