Socialism’s Latest Fantasy: Apple Slices Stop Toddler Tantrums

New York City democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani unveiled perhaps one of his loftiest promises yet on Monday, vowing that his grocery stores will be 30% cheaper than competitors and will sell apple slices that stop toddler tantrums. 

“The savings will last for the entire month. That means no weekly fluctuations or sticker shock at the checkout line — not for our seniors living on fixed incomes, nor for the parents who rely on a regular supply of apple slices to keep toddler tantrums at bay,” he said. 

Mamdani said the stores will have a “core set of goods which will include all fresh produce, meat, and seafood, along with 20 other essential items like cheese, milk, and bread.” The stores will set prices at the beginning of each month and will not change until the next month. The markets will not sell hot food to avoid competing with local bodegas. 

“Mamdani’s policies — from state run groceries to government-provided babysitting for parents’ night out — perfectly demonstrate how much Leftists want the government to co-parent your kids. Ironically, Mamdani’s obsession with the City parenting your children stems from his own childlessness — and we parents will stick to our own apple slices, thanks,” Daily Wire host Isabel Brown said.

The first of the five grocery stores, one in each borough of New York City, will open by the end of 2027 in Hunts Point in the Bronx at the former Spofford Juvenile Detention Facility. Mamdani has committed that the other four will be open by the end of his term as mayor. Mamdani predicts that New Yorkers will save $90 a month, which could translate to $1,000 per year. Another store will open in 2029 at La Marqueta in East Harlem, where former New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia placed a public retail market 90 years ago. 

The city will own or lease the land at each of the grocery stores and will pay for needed construction or renovations, but a third-party operator will be in charge of running the store. Mamdani’s administration is requesting proposals from third-party operations to run the grocery stores that the mayor says have “no plans to turn a profit.” 

Mamdani has argued that the city-owned grocery stores are meant to serve as a proof of concept for a larger government role in providing essential services. While announcing the second location, he pushed back on President Ronald Reagan’s famous line that the nine most terrifying words in the English language are, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” Instead, Mamdani said the more frightening words are: “I worked all day and can’t feed my family.”

Critics cite failures of government-run grocery stores in places like Venezuela, where stores suffered chronic shortages, empty shelves, spoiled food, and logistical breakdowns.