Frieda's Branded Produce's Alex Jackson Brings Fresh Perspective to New York City Mayor's Grocery Approach

SACRAMENTO, CA - Few can champion fresh produce like those who live and breathe our industry, so when experienced voices like Alex Jackson jump into public forums to champion access to fresh food and battle food insecurity, it is a rare opportunity to blend the consumer-facing with the wisdom behind the curtain.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's push to open city-owned grocery stores in each of New York's five boroughs caught the eye of the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Frieda's Branded Produce via a Morning News Beat by Kevin Coupe. The plan, which includes a Manhattan location in East Harlem's La Marqueta marketplace, aims to address food insecurity in underserved communities by offering discounts on basic groceries and quality jobs, with the city waiving rent and real estate taxes. Alex sought to respond not just with an opinion, but a roadmap that I asked she share more of.

Melissa De Leon Chavez: How do you see Mayor Mamdani's grocery store initiative taking shape, and what would you most want to see come of it?

Alex Jackson: I look forward to seeing what Mamdani does to reduce food insecurity in NYC. I agree that—from a supply chain and cost efficiency standpoint—a partnership with an existing retailer like Wegman's, Stop & Shop, Aldi, LIDL, etc. would be much more efficient. And I think there's a chance he still does that. Or, will he work with a broadline distributor (UNFI, Bozzuto's, Sysco) to ensure they have total store represented?

MDC: It sounds like your worry isn't that the effort will fail, but that it will succeed on the wrong terms. Can you expand on that?

AJ: My worst fear is that he bids it out to big companies who are going to do what is best for their brand, and not for the consumer. Think about Coca-Cola or Pepsi: Their strategy to get vending machines in schools to create lifelong customers from a young age who will purchase their product for a lifetime works. And, it feeds established habits of cheap calories rather than nutritious calories that keep kids, and adults, fuller for longer. That concern deepens when considering who these communities are actually up against. The communities Mamdani is serving not only struggle with food insecurity, they struggle with nutritious food insecurity. How will he not only change access to food, but access to nutritious food so he can also reverse generations of obesity, diabetes, and high cholesterol.

MDC: There are many who might wonder where fresh produce could fit in?

AJ: Being in the produce business, my mind goes to ways we can introduce affordable fresh fruits and vegetables in these markets. What if the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) put together a network of suppliers who could ensure good quality produce that normally would go to waste or be donated gets sent to this store to be sold for almost nothing? What if Planet Harvest created awareness of their produce prescriptions by offering their boxes at these stores for almost nothing? Or, what if Misfits Market was the 'retail partner' for these stores, taking product that may be left in the supply chain and bringing it to those who won't let it go to waste?

MDC: Access to product is surely one piece. What else needs to happen for it to stick and ultimately create a counter-culture to the examples like Pepsi and Coca Cola?

AJ: If Mamdani is able to accomplish this, he then needs to ensure shoppers understand how to select, prepare, and store these fresh ingredients they aren't used to so they not only don't go to waste, but so they enjoy the eating experience and come back for more. Ultimately, the vision goes beyond one major city: I believe in what Mamdani is doing, and that this could become a case study in how we reverse food insecurity and obesity in this country, and increase consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables.

With an eye on this and other decisions poised to influence our industry now and in the future, AndNowUKnow will continue to report on fresh produce voices making waves.