(TheProudRepublic.com) – Showing how it spends hard-earned taxpayer money, the liberal bastion of San Francisco recently unveiled its first free food “market” with a $5.5 million budget to offer a no-cost shopping experience to eligible residents.
Located in the Bayview-Hunters Point area, this 4000-square-foot District 10 Market serves to address food insecurity by mimicking a conventional grocery shopping experience.
Residents within certain zip codes can access this facility once a month using a benefits card, similar to a Costco membership.
To qualify, individuals must be verified social services clients, either have dependents under 25 or a food-related illness and obtain a referral from one of eleven local community organizations.
Known for being a key figure behind the 2021 Food Empowerment Market legislation, District 10 Market senior consultant Geoffrea Morris discussed the nature of this program.
“This is a supplemental source for food. Food stamps should be the primary source. This is a supplemental source especially close to the end of the month when families are facing the pain, especially with inflation,” Morris explained to The Center Square.
The market aims to replicate a typical supermarket experience. Items selected by shoppers are weighed and scanned at checkout to monitor inventory and manage supplies.
Although the market runs on a significant city grant, it uses taxpayer funds to procure high-quality fresh produce from local farms and depends on donations for other staples and toiletries. “If we didn’t tell you it was free you’d think you’d have to pay,” Morris commented.
Morris also pointed out the importance of integrating other city services through the market’s referral process, noting, “If you’re having food insecurity you’re having other issues as well and you need to be engaged with the services the city has put in place to improve your life and the life of your children.”
If successful, the city plans to expand this free market concept to other low-income districts to improve food scarcity while encouraging greater engagement with municipal support services.
District 10, where the market is located, is one of San Francisco’s most economically challenged areas, historically plagued by high crime rates that have deterred permanent grocery store establishments.
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