Southern Arizonans tell attorney general that grocery merger could increase food deserts, prices, job loss

Southern Arizonans living in rural areas are worried that a potential merger of two of the state's largest grocery stores could exacerbate the current lack of grocery stores, causing increased food deserts, increased food prices and loss of jobs.

These are just a few of the concerns conveyed to Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes at a listening session in Sierra Vista on Wednesday about locals’ concerns over the potential Albertsons and Kroger merger.

Wednesday's listening session is part of an antitrust investigation of the proposed merger and has been just one of many listening sessions all over the state.

Mayes has visited cities and towns throughout the state that depend on one or both grocery stores for food. Having both stores puts these towns at risk of one of the stores closing, she said.

Mayes is gathering testimony from towns across the state to factor into her decision whether to sue to stop the merger.

Merger could disproportionately affect rural towns, parts of Sierra Vista

Sierra Vista is luckier than many other towns in rural Arizona, with a Fry’s Food Store, which is owned by Kroger, Safeway, and Food City.

However, in the 25 miles between Sierra Vista and Bisbee, there are no supermarkets.

Jaclyn Cruces, who works in Bisbee’s Safeway pharmacy, said if the merger happens and they decide to close stores, that would be a devastating job loss for not only Bisbee but also the surrounding communities who depend on Safeway for employment.

“Eighty percent of our coworkers in Safeway, they live in Douglas. They have to drive every day 30 miles. So, what would happen if they closed the Safeway? There’s no jobs in Douglas or Bisbee,” Cruces said.

Cruces also noted how Douglas residents travel to the Bisbee Safeway for their pharmaceutical needs, as Douglas’ Walmart pharmacy is swamped, causing people to wait days for medication.

Mayes said the companies have not publicly stated whether they will close stores if the merger goes through.

"They have not been open with us or anyone else about stores that they intend to close," Mayes said.

Much of southern Arizona considered a food desert; merger could exacerbate issue

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a significant amount of southern Arizona has limited access to healthy food.

Mayes’ office found that towns like Tombstone, Whetstone, Huachuca City, St. David and Bowie lack a grocery store, while others like Willcox and Benson have only one. The towns with no grocery stores ranged from 8 to 25 miles from the nearest town with a store.

Sierra Vista Mayor Clea McCaa said he disagreed with the merger, noting that Safeway is in the middle of town while Fry’s and Food City are on the east side of town. If Safeway were to close, that would disproportionally affect the west side of town, a lower income area.

Councilmember Mark Rodriguez said the west side of town has limited access to grocery stores.

“Safeway is on the border of our west end. Our west end is considered a food desert,” he said, noting that public transportation is limited, and many people walk to their nearest grocery store, which would make accessing a grocery store challenging if one of the stores were to close.

He reiterated that for many towns, Sierra Vista and Bisbee have the closest grocery stores.

“From here to Bisbee there is nothing else. And from here to I-10 there’s nothing else,” he said.

While there are Dollar General stores in the area, residents noted their lack of fresh produce and quality food.

Residents worry about loss of revenue, increased food prices

People also worried about a potential increase in food prices.

“We only have one grocery store (in Bisbee). If Sierra Vista loses a grocery store the prices will go up, not necessarily because there is more distance for food to travel,” said Bisbee resident Anne Carl.

Residents were also concerned about local small businesses near the large grocery stores that depend on that foot traffic for business in Sierra Vista. What would happen to their customer base if the large grocery store near them were to close?

They were also concerned about Sierra Vista and local towns losing more revenue to Tucson as any store closures could drive more people to travel to the bigger city. One resident said his neighbors travel to Tucson for their monthly Costco run. He worried that the number would increase exponentially if one store were to close.

Mayes reiterated to the 25-person crowd the importance of their testimonies to the potential lawsuit.

“Let's say the merger goes through and the merger is allowed by states or by the federal government, there's no going back on that … So this is our chance right now to get this right,” Mayes said.

Mayes said the timeline for the merger is likely to happen at the end of the year or in the beginning of 2024, and her decision must come soon about a potential lawsuit.

Kroger said they will not close any stores or fire frontline workers

After the meeting, Kroger sent a statement stating that the merger will bring "meaningful, measurable benefits" to customers.

“As we have in past mergers, we will hold ourselves accountable to our customer commitments, including investing $500 million to lower prices and offering a broader selection of fresh, affordable products through an expanded Our Brands portfolio," Kroger said, in an email.

The company also said they will invest an additional $1 billion to raise wages and benefits.

"Kroger will not lay off any frontline associates or close any stores, distribution centers or manufacturing facilities as a result of this merger,” the email stated.

Reach the reporter at sarah.lapidus@gannett.com. The Republic’s coverage of southern Arizona is funded, in part, with a grant from Report for America. Support Arizona news coverage with a tax deductible donation at supportjournalism.azcentral.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Southern Arizona residents speak out on Albertsons-Kroger merger