There’s just one full-service grocery store serving tens of thousands of residents in Ward 8, east of the Anacostia River — but some fear that Giant on Alabama Avenue SE might close.

The threat of closure looms over residents because Giant has repeatedly said that theft at the unprofitable store has made it challenging to operate. Already, Giant has reduced its offerings, removing brand-name products such as Tide laundry detergent and Dove soap from its shelves in order to deter people from stealing.

Giant will recover from losses; the company made a profit last year amid inflation. Meanwhile, a closure would hit the Ward 8 community hard, particularly those living in Congress Heights, Bellevue, and Washington Highlands. To get fresh fruit, vegetables, and canned goods, residents would have to travel farther – two miles to the Safeway in Naylor Gardens or even across state lines to Maryland.

Despite efforts by the D.C. government to expand access to grocery stores in underserved communities, Ward 8 has lost options. Good Food Market in Bellevue closed in November 2022. Capital Area Food Bank ended up selling fresh food from a grocery truck to meet the community’s needs.

A Giant spokesperson assured the public that the company does not plan to close the Ward 8 store in a statement to DCist/WAMU. But at the same time, they warned things have not gotten better: “The reality is that theft and violence at this store is significant, and getting worse, not better… We have invested in a host of measures to mitigate the issue at this store, and across many stores, but we also need the help and partnership from the community and local officials to truly combat the theft and violence that continues to escalate.”

For this edition of Voices of Wards 7 & 8, we spoke to residents about their feelings on this potential Giant closure — and how they feel about living in a “food apartheid” overall.  Some can relate to the position Giant is in, but overall do not understand the impetus to shutter their store. Theft is up across D.C., so they wonder why the company would single out this store given the harm it will do to the community.

Their responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Yvette Simms

This Giant is more convenient than anywhere else, even going up to the Safeway, because you got to go up there on the bus and then you got to get a ride back. And a lot of times you don’t see the ride. We can walk right here and still carry bags right down the street or get on a bus and go down. It’s more convenient for me.

(Her son) He’s in a wheelchair, so I bring him down. And sometimes we get our flu shots. I’m not putting him on them nasty buses to go up to the Safeway to get nothing. I don’t care about that Safeway either. And it’s too high. Giant is high enough, but they are more higher than Giant.

I’ve been up there but I don’t like the Safeway, so I really don’t go up there. I’ve been over here for like 13 or 14 years, maybe a little longer, and only been up at that Safeway maybe three times. And that’s because I was already up that end and not going grocery shopping – just to pick up something – because those prices are higher.

But I really pray that they don’t move this Giant. I want the Giant to stay here. It’s a lot of us that come in and out of this Giant. You know, you’ve got bad apples that make it bad for everybody else and stuff gets closed down. They take away just like they did that 7-Eleven down the road. That was the only 7-Eleven we had around here. Then they get mad when we don’t have stuff. But y’all making it bad for us – can’t have anything. So why should we [have stuff] if y’all are going to tear it up or rob them or do whatever y’all do? What’s the point?

But I don’t know why they want to shut this Giant down, there’s been high crime everywhere. To me, that’s not an excuse. So if that’s the case, then what are you going to do about the Safeway? You know what I mean? What are you going do uptown where the other Giants are at? That’s not an excuse.

Well, it ain’t like I’m not comfortable because they do have guards and stuff up in here. That door was closed for a few years. I guess they had to open it back up because of fire hazard. And they have like three and four guards right there. So I don’t understand. And they made the guys move that hang up there [where they used] to give you rides. They’re not up here like that no more. So why do y’all want to close it? Y’all got all the trouble from in front of the Giant.

In all the Black neighborhoods they are gonna close up whatever they want to close up. And don’t complain when they close it up if you ain’t going to abide by the rules. Then when they close it up, just shut up and don’t say nothing. Why you gonna say something if you’re part of the problem? It’s crazy, but I really hope they don’t close it.

This Giant is actually a clean one. It’s not a dirty store. I got to tell you that and when you get in line, you got nice people that work in there that I appreciate. I really appreciate them people. The neighborhood’s not bad especially where we’re at, we have no trouble. I mean nothing. Where it is at, it is around us but is not right there where we at. So I don’t really have a lot of complaints. I get mad when I hear gunshots every now and then. I’m like, damn, we can’t live nowhere without somebody doing something. But now it ain’t no neighborhood you go in that ain’t got something going on. And that’s just the bottom line to that.

Lakia Robinson

This Giant is a pillar. It needs to stay in the community because we need it not only for the kids, but for the seniors who are raising the grandkids and a great grands – the sick and shut-ins who can’t go far. Also, we have a great security team that works on site. And it’s also metro accessible, there’s about at least five or six busses that can take them all around the Ward 8 community from Anacostia to the Congress Heights subway station. And they have a good team here that helps with not only the security,the Giant staff,  but also the community within. They help with bags, even that, with no problem. The schools, you know, some of the school kids try to come and help. But this Giant needs to stay. The company is doing what they can do to keep it open.

I  shop here Monday through Friday while I’m on duty at work. So I need to this Giant… there’s nowhere else they can go. Giant has the better food deals, cosmetic deals, things of that nature, versus Safeway. Yes, Lidl has more vegetables and little knick-knacks, but it don’t have what we need to feed a family, the big packages. We have a lot of huge families, not just big but huge families of generations upon generations that’s living with grandmothers, not just with the mothers and fathers. Some of the fathers.

But we need this here. We need to keep it here and do whatever else is needed with the security measures they already have in place to keep it here for not to go nowhere, because there’s nowhere else to shop that we can get to locally with public transportation.

So one of the problems, I think contributing to the theft or the shoplifting is the increase of of drug use in the community. I think they should reach out — even though that’s not their job but it will help — reach out to the Department of Health and have them sometime pull up with the van that goes around the city and gives out the Narcan and the different trainings inside or outside of store and leave samples.

Also, the government needs to work with Giant to allow them to put whatever extra security measures that they need to put in place without being sanctioned for trying to keep jobs. Because if you shut down, where are all these people gonna go with no jobs? How are they going to pay their rent note, their house note, their car notes, and all that they need, and take their kids and get back to school and feed themselves? If you shut Giant down, what do we have?

So we need more help, sometimes MPD. But we’ve got a hellafied security team that works on site. So I pray they keep them and help Giant stay open to keep these jobs and bring more jobs in the midst of them expanding, or trying to expand, the security measures they put in place.

Giant has done a backpack and a bookbag giveaway. They have given away samples, different little samples, and full samples like burgers, and hotdogs. They give out different resources. They have different resources out here to assist and bring folks in with different entities, not just a Giant thing … selected D.C. government things, the cell phones, fruit, vegetable tastings, giveaways, supplies, things with the schools in the community. So it ain’t just, ‘Oh, we just want you coming in and shop. We going to give back, too, in order to keep y’all coming and to keep our business booming.’ It’s all about a community’s got to give back.

Everybody’s got to be willing to reach out, do something, in some shape or form or fashion. We’ve got to build the community. If you don’t build the community up, it’s going to fall down. And Ward 8 has come so far thanks to the pillars beforehand –  Marion Barry,  Trayon [White]. All the people all across the Ward, all the constituents all the across Ward 8. I’m shopping here every day, Monday through Friday, between 830 and 11:30 p.m., I’m in the Giant. Maybe two or three times, at least three times a day. So I need Giant to stay, not just for me, but for the community and to bring jobs for the kids.

And some of the seniors who retire from their regular jobs still need income. This is where they come. This is where they get a job. This is where they do that part-time to keep the food coming, to keep the bills paid. It’s not easy, it costs to live in D.C. also. so that’s another thing. It’s hard to live in D.C., it ain’t cheap. So please don’t close it and don’t take these jobs away from the people that’s already here and the income of people that need the jobs.

Louie Holland 

I like Giant because it’s right here. The other place is far, and people don’t drive, they’re walking right here. Safeway is not good. Giant…all the food is here.

Safeway is nasty. People are asking you for money all the time. Crack people [are] there all the time, I don’t like that.  I  like this one (Giant). The bank and everything is right here. I don’t like that they (Giant) would close.

Joyce Ross 

I live right down the street. It means a hell of a whole lot to me. I’m old. If I want to shop, that means I got to get on the bus to go all the way down to the Safeway, get on the bus and come back up this way. Now I’m spending money going each way and I can’t use Metro access to go grocery shopping, I don’t think.

This Giant means a lot to not only me, but to a whole lot of people. How they just gonna pack up and take it away? They got people stealing…put a monitor underneath your food so it could go off when you get to the door. That’s the way I feel and thank you.

And get some better food and keep your shelves filled up. I hate to come up here from the 1st to the 15th, there ain’t nothing on the shelves that you need and want.

“Chuw” 

The potential of Giant closing, it’s gonna affect the community because people in this area don’t drive, that’s number one. They’ll have to take the bus and find other means to go to the Safeway up the street. Maybe a 10-minute drive. It could be 20, 30 minutes to an hour if you’re doing public transportation. If you’ve got water, anything heavy and you’re an elderly person that’s not going to work. They can barely lift them. That sucks!

Okay… alright, I wasn’t stolen personally from Africa, but my ancestors were. America was built on stealing. How do I feel about theft? I think that’s pretty much the American way. You know, hey, they stole us from Africa, where my ancestors were enslaved. They stole land over here, how I feel about theft is ‘theft is theft’, man. What you did and what I do is on a different scale. Welcome to America, baby, I mean, we here.

They (Giant) could do some things with the community. Throw some cookouts or maybe give some food away. Give some items away, maybe some stuff  that’s like on the verge of expiring. I mean, hey, what is the store going to do with it? If you can’t sell this stuff, then what are you going to do with it? Just throw it away, right? So, I mean, it’s a lot of things they can do. They can do food drives, gift cards and stuff. They used to do gift cards, but they stopped. Throw something for the kids – maybe they wouldn’t want to take from you if you’re giving them something, you know what I mean?

There are other ways they can go about things versus taking name brands off the shelf. They’re going to steal the bottom brands; people still got to eat and live. That’s not going to deter [them]. Security probably can deter the actual thefts at this Giant or whatever other store there is.

[If Giant leaves] it’s going to take jobs away from the people that work here. That’s going to be detrimental on both sides of the coin.