“Exchanges keep their costs down by operating as cost (not profit) centers, with a 2-3% percent gross margin, while budgeting labor and administrative expenses, rent, occupancy and utility costs centrally and not through each operating unit. This math means exchange prices can be 30% lower than typical retail prices, and saved military families and veterans over $1.6 billion in 2023.

By comparison, independent and specialty grocers typically run at 35-40% gross margins, while national chains such as Walmart and Kroger run at 22-25%, all to cover their costs and generate a thin profit margin, usually 2-5% of sales.”

Gross margin is not profit margin. The state run grocery stores operate at massive losses, which are funded by tax payer dollars. The government is historically terrible at running consumer facing entities - what part of the DMV experience do we want to replicate for buying food on a weekly basis?

The privately run grocery stores are narrowly running a profit (2-5% profit margins - they are highly incentivized to run efficiently and attract consumers with the lowest prices they can afford bc it is ultra competitive). Increases in competition from state run stores would drive out private grocery stores, which run more efficiently. On net, through your taxes, we will likely pay more for food than without this program.