Bronx bodega survey: Bacon, egg and cheese prices remained high

This year, WNYC/Gothamist has been partnering with bodegas in the Bronx to launch a community survey about inflation (via prices for bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches), the mental toll of crime and feelings about marijuana legalization.

These corner stores often serve as hubs of conversation and community, as well as places where people can buy essential goods. This pilot phase is focused on the south and west Bronx, which are home to largely Black and Latino working-class neighborhoods that were hit hard by the pandemic.

In league with New York City-based research institute Knology and the Bodega and Small Business Group, we returned to the small businesses in the late spring (April and May) to gauge expectations and thoughts ahead of the summer. Much like the first survey in February, we visited seven bodegas, speaking with seven business owners (bodegueros). We also had conversations with 55 customers.

The ages of the customers and how long they’ve lived in the city was roughly the same as before. The stores are located in the 10453, 10455, 10456, 10457 and 10468 ZIP codes.

The Bacon, Egg and Cheese Indicator – April and May

Bodega owners reported similar answers on the high prices of bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches (BEC) as they did during the winter, with prices ranging between $4.50 and $6 for a roll and between $6.50 and $7.50 for a hero. Those sentiments mirrored regional trends seen with the consumer price index across April, May and June — where food costs stayed roughly flat. While the prices for the iconic sandwiches remained mostly the same since the first survey, it’s a stark difference from the $1.99 and $3.50 for a BEC on a roll and between $3 and $4.50 for a hero many New Yorkers were previously accustomed to prior to the inflation surge last year.

Most customers surveyed during this round continued to express that prices for “everything” keeps rising, and approximately a third said staples like eggs, meat or fish felt pricier recently.

The largest share of customers — 15 of 55 — said they did not know why prices were rising. Another 12 cited inflation, and 10 each blamed COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine. Official and news reports support these reasons for rising food prices, but also cite issues like droughts affecting farming.

The U.S. Food Price Outlook — released in July — states food prices are still rising, though not at the epic pace witnessed last year. Egg prices are beginning to fall as flocks recover from the recent influenza outbreak. But prices for meat, poultry, dairy, beverages and cereal are expected to keep climbing throughout the rest of the year.

Crime and safety

Most shoppers echoed previous sentiments that crime was on the rise, although relatively few people had experienced a crime personally. The overwhelming majority of shoppers surveyed said they had not called 911 or the police, and the few who had were evenly split between those who said they were happy with the police response and those who were not

While conducting the surveying, researchers recorded an episode of shoplifting in real time. The incident highlights the importance of having people with differing backgrounds when conducting this type of project.

Elizabeth Alcántara saw the confrontation from the point of view of a Dominican who has worked closely with bodegueros via the Bodega and Small Business Group. Jena Barchas-Lichtenstein is U.S. born and has been involved for years with local activism focusing on who gets left out of "community voices,” including homeless and drug-using communities.

The dispatches below about the shoplifting incident were written from the perspective of each researcher and were lightly edited for clarity.

What Elizabeth Alcántara from BSBG documented:

What we experienced during a visit to one of the bodegas was an unforgettable experience. We were witnesses to how bodegueros are suffering not only economically but also emotionally.

A young person entered the bodega, took more than five items and got ready to leave without paying when a bodeguero got in front of him and took it all away. At the same time, the bodeguero was very angry, holding a tube for whatever reaction from the young man (who was absolutely on drugs) and according to what the bodeguero told us, he's always in this area doing exactly this.

Both the bodeguero and his wife feel very bad because they don't know in the moment how the young man might react and if he would attack them. They told us that they haven't confronted this particular young man before but have had to come face to face with many other criminals. If they didn't, they'd have to close the store because the very little money they make would be stolen.

"My wife is afraid for me because I have had to confront them but if I don't they don't respect us and we would no longer be in business," said the bodeguero.

What Jena Barchas-Lichtenstein from Knology documented:

Someone came into the store — I mostly noticed that they were very out of it, kind of groggy, almost sleepwalking, very disoriented. I remember thinking that they might have benefited from medical attention or a social worker because they were clearly not okay but I didn't know why. They wandered around, browsed for a while, and eventually picked up four or five items. Then they started to wander out of the store.

That's when things picked up. The bodegueros got very tense and confronted the person pretty aggressively. It started calm but quickly went from "hey, are you going to pay for that?" to "show me the money or get out of my store." The bodeguero had a bat or something and was hitting it against a hand in a way that seemed threatening.

On the one hand, I totally understood the frustration and anger of the bodeguero. They worked hard for this store and it's terrible for people to come in and take things. On the other hand, I really didn't understand the fear — the only person who got agitated during the encounter was the bodeguero, not the customer. The customer stayed pretty calm and out of it. (In general, it never occurred to me that this person would become violent. They were moving far too slowly and were too chilled out. And in fact they didn't.)

But bodegueros aren't medical first responders nor social workers. Why isn't there someone to call?

Smoke-free zones for marijuana

Like in the first round of the survey, more customers were opposed to marijuana legalization than in favor of it, although many of them expressed nuanced opinions.

When people were asked what they would change about legalization, it became clear that many were primarily opposed to its implementation, rather than the policy itself. The most common response was that people did not want marijuana to be legal at all, but almost as many objected primarily to the absence of smoke-free places.

We heard many complaints about smoking in apartment hallways, public parks and on sidewalks, with a few shoppers complaining directly that people smoke marijuana in places where they're not allowed to smoke cigarettes.

Several others only wanted marijuana to be legal for medicinal purposes.

To the extent that people thought they knew why marijuana was being legalized, most said it was a way for the government to benefit financially. The surveyors heard very few responses about mass incarceration or injustice in the criminal system.

Where respondents get their news

It's hard to know whether and how the news people pay attention to affects their sense of these topics, but most customers tended to follow the same relatively small set of news sources.

Most were TV watchers, with a fair number saying they got news from the internet or social media. Of the television watchers, those who named a specific channel generally watched Spanish-language news: nearly all of them named either Univision (channel 41) or Telemundo (channel 47), or both.

This project is supported by the Rita Allen Foundation.