SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The San Diego City Council on Monday is set to consider adopting a new law aimed at expanding accessibility to grocery store coupons that proponents say could become the first of its kind.
The proposed ordinance, introduced by City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera, is the first action item from the recently-established Select Committee on Addressing Cost of Living to be brought before the full council.
Under the proposed ordinance, grocers in the city who offer digital deals would be required to have paper coupons with the same deal available upon request. A sign noting these coupons’ availability or prices with any digital deals would also need to be clearly displayed for shoppers.
Elo-Rivera’s office says this change would help address disparities in access to money-saving opportunities due to the “digital divide,” or the schism between those with easy access to the internet and those who do not.
As nearly every aspect of life has shifted into digital spaces, studies have shown this gap has exacerbated socioeconomic inequality, shutting out people like seniors and low-income households from certain tools and opportunities that are only available online.
“Grocery prices are skyrocketing, yet big chains are making it harder—not easier—for San Diegans to save money,” Elo-Rivera’s office said in a release on the ordinance. “This ordinance is about fairness, transparency, and stopping corporate schemes that squeeze consumers for more money. If a discount is available digitally, it should be available to everyone—period.”
The city council is set to take up the item during its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday after it was unanimously passed through the select committee during its first meeting last month.
The committee’s stated aim is to find ways to bring immediate relief to San Diegans’ pocketbooks. Among the proposals it is also considering is a bump to tourism industry workers’ minimum wages up to $25 an hour.
Should the grocery ordinance pass, San Diego could become the first city in the country to implement such a policy. Lawmakers in Washington, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Illinois have considered similar bills in recent years, but all failed to become law.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
