Boston’s Seaport has grown rapidly over the past decade, but grocery shopping remains a patchwork solution rather than a single, full-service option.

For many, the Trader Joe’s on Thomson Place is the neighborhood’s anchor, but the small-format store known for its private label stapes is far from a full-service grocer.

“If you ask folks, if they’re using Trader Joe’s, they’re buying a day or two worth of groceries,” said Tom Ready of the Fort Point Neighborhood Association, who has lived in the area for 15 years. “They tend to either drive to a store to get the big stuff or they’re having it done via delivery service.”

Ready noted that delivery fees can add an extra $10 or more to a weekly grocery trip, and the stores in range are already some of the pricier options in the city.

A Boston Globe price test in July found that a standard list of staples costs roughly $38 at Market Basket, $44 at Stop & Shop and $50 at Whole Foods. Trader Joes tends to offer competitive label pricing but lacks the variety of national brands. Without nearby affordable chains, Seaport residents pay a premium or hop in a car to find better bargains elsewhere.

For broader selections and bulk items, residents turn to the Whole Foods at Ink Block in the South End, or to Foodie’s Market and Stop & Shop in South Boston. But those stores sit across busy roads like the Broadway bridge, making grocery trips by foot or bike unsafe or impractical.

“For the [south-most] end of the community, you could walk there but it requires you to go over the Broadway Bridge and under the expressway. It’s not the most pedestrian friendly or bike friendly, so for the most part folks would drive,” Ready said.

The structural challenge goes deeper.

Urban supermarkets, especially full service ones, often need 20,000–50,000 square feet of contiguous ground floor space with ample loading areas. Seaport’s developments typically divide retail spaces into smaller storefronts to fill quickly with restaurants or services.

“When big projects get brought forward, grocery stores are part of the conversation,” Ready said. “If it’s a development project, ground floor use typically is not identified during the process. For a real grocery store, they’d really have to commit to setting that space aside. It’s pretty hard to commit to it unless they’ve already done pre work with one of the larger groceries.”

Prior to the arrival of the Trader Joe’s in 2019, Ready described the area as a food desert. “You had to either shop in a bodega, which have super limited choices, or find your way to the Stop & Shop in Southie. We had the same problem that exists in other neighborhoods.”

Boston’s lower income neighborhoods, some parts of West Roxbury, Dorchester and East Boston, still meet the USDA’s definition of food deserts, according to a 2021 study. These are areas where residents are both low income and live more than half a mile from a supermarket.

In contrast, Seaport’s challenges stem from planning omissions, rather than basic food access.

“We kind of migrated from a food desert to having at least access to some food,” Ready said. “The people that live here chose this location because you can walk to get what you need and walk back. Frankly, I think anybody that lives in any part of Boston would love to have that option.”