CUB Foods - Where Are The Shopping Carts? Open Letter to United Natural Foods, Inc.

Regarding: Cub Foods-University Ave St. Paul

There are St. Paul commissioners, city council members, and other elected officials who shop at Cub Foods on University Avenue. Their silence in this superficial matter is deafening. How is it they can solve challenges for the people they represent but cannot pick up a phone a lobby for something the people might need?

By Don Allen, Journal of A Black Teacher (2025)

Saint Paul, MN...I don’t typically delve into conspiracy theories, but I find myself fully immersed in this one. The Cub Foods on University Avenue in St. Paul, Minnesota, situated in the vibrant heart of Midway, has been eerily devoid of shopping carts for over a month now. How can you shop on a Sunday after church and not have a cart—and only two cashier lanes open? This unusual situation has sparked my curiosity and raised a myriad of questions about what could be behind such a puzzling oversight.

I chatted with the manager and a few employees at the deli, which, I must say, serves the best fried chicken you’ll find anywhere on University Avenue. As I chatted with them, several stories began to converge. It’s rumored that many of the estimated 50 shopping carts are residing at a nearby homeless encampment, though no one I spoke with was able to specify the exact location. If I just talk about my neighborhood, having a major grocery store in the heart of the Hamline-Midway neighborhood (Decennial Census, 2020), approximately 12,124 people, it would seem that customer service gaps would be non-exisitant in a service industry meant to meet the hard-goods and food needs of humans; this includes having shopping carts for it’s customers. When a retail system breaks down and fails to function as intended, it is often referred to as retail system failure or market failure in retail infrastructure (for a great example of this in short-scene action, visit the Speedway Gas Station on Snelling Avenue across the street from Hamline University). According to Patrick Lexicone (2022), "Retail system failure occurs when access to essential goods becomes inconsistent, inequitable, or economically unsustainable for the communities it is intended to serve" (p. 14). In areas like low-income urban neighborhoods, this breakdown manifests in store closures, limited fresh food options, and increased prices—leading to a widening disparity in access. Such failures reflect broader structural issues, including disinvestment, systemic neglect, and the prioritization of profits over community well-being. (Reference: Lexicone, P. (2022). Retail fractures: Systems, equity, and the new American marketplace. Urban Policy Press.)

The BackGround: SuperValu Inc., formerly headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, was a major American grocery wholesaler and retailer. It owned Cub Foods, a prominent supermarket chain with locations across the Twin Cities, particularly in low-income and racially diverse neighborhoods. Through its ownership of Cub and other retail banners, SuperValu played a significant role in shaping food access and affordability in underserved communities. While often providing essential services in areas labeled as "food deserts," the corporate structure prioritized profits over long-term community development. In 2018, SuperValu was acquired by United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI), which now operates Cub Foods and other affiliated stores.

I understand that the area where Cub Foods operates is likely reaping significant financial rewards for someone, somewhere, at some point. I also understand that serving low-income communities is a business choice. However, upon entering the store, I was dismayed again to find that for over a month, there has been a glaring lack of effort to replenish the shopping carts or to retrieve those scattered throughout the parking lot. Just down the street, there’s a Target store that boasts an ample supply of carts readily available for shoppers. The absence of accessible shopping carts shouldn’t have to be something I have to constantly think about or worry over; it should be a given in a store of this size.

Residents of Saint Paul, Minnesota, who inhabit and toil within the excavation of Midway University, are witnessing a gradual transformation unfold before their eyes. However, this shift is not one marked by an influx of wealth, improvements in behavior, or strides toward social equity. Instead, it appears to be a covert effort to displace individuals from their familiar surroundings, as city planners embark on a misguided and data-deficient quest to reinvent the area according to their vision of an urban utopia. Their plans aim to reshape the neighborhood, yet they seem to ignore the rich tapestry of lives and stories that currently define it (See the Rondo Neightborhood).