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With the help of the San Francisco Human Services Agency, the Bayview Hunters Point Multipurpose Senior Services opened the District 10 Community Market (5030 Third Street, SF) in June. Two-years in the making, the store offers free groceries and fresh produce to hundreds of families who live in the 94124, 94134, and 94107 zip codes, where almost 47% more residents live below the poverty line than in all of San Francisco—and where food deserts make nearby access to fresh food difficult to impossible.
Designed to be a more flexible and dignified alternative to a free food pantry, those accepted to the program to use the District 10 Market already receive some form of public assistance or are otherwise low-income, have kids at home or a diet-related illness, and have been referred by a partner organization. The space was once home to a grocery store called Esposto’s Market in the ’70s and was inactive for almost 10 years before this project came to life with donated help from contractor MWH Webcor and a nonprofit grant from the Food Empowerment Market Fund.
Free and low cost donations and groceries are provided to the D10 Market by inaugural partners Lucky’s Bayview, Grocery Outlet Bayshore, San Francisco-Marin Food Bank, and SF Produce Market. Modeled after free grocery stores in Santa Barbara and Nashville, the District 10 Market is the first grocery store like this in San Francisco. Hopefully, it’ll now become a new role model for more communities here and everywhere to follow suit.
Tamara just launched a new free newsletter called California Eating.
