NY grocery store uses fair pricing system to provide products based on your income

NEW YORK - The average cost of groceries in America in 2023 was more than $400 a month per person, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

There is a place 120 miles north of New York City, in Hudson, New York, where anyone at any income level can buy locally grown products that are healthy and affordable. 

This isn’t your average health food store. 

This is Rolling Grocer 19, where the price of everything you buy is based on your income and your family size. A tiered scale where shoppers pay for their items based on the honor system. 

At the lowest level, in this case, is the blue-tiered level where customers pay a wholesale price. Rolling Grocer isn't making any money on that sale. 

People shop in a supermarket in the Manhattan borough of New York city on January 14, 2024. (Photo by Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP) (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images)

Co-founder and head buyer Selham Graham, says she's giving people in this community food they never thought they'd ever be able to afford but also giving them the peace of mind knowing they've made a healthy choice.

Rachel Schneider, the store's Director, says the Rolling Grocer can afford to help thanks in part to a series of donors she's helped develop. "We have 10-12 of them, that's how we keep the doors open."

A first of its kind concept that started in New York with the hopes it may one day pop up in cities all over the country.