San Francisco’s Bayview area has opened doors to its first free food market where eligible residents can get necessary groceries for absolutely free! Called the District 10 Community Market, this facility is designed to help food stamp holders in this area tackle food insecurity. Once a month, they can use this free food market, get all the groceries they need, and leave without paying for anything. Scroll on to know about the Food Empowerment Market.
San Francisco Opens Its First Free Food Market
Just a few days back, it was announced that Canada will get its first free grocery store. And now San Francisco has opened the first-of-its-kind free food market in the Bayview neighbourhood. Funded by the San Francisco’s Human Services Agency, District 10 Community Market is the pilot project of the Food Empowerment Market initiative by the authorities.
Spread across 4,000 square feet, this facility will offer a wide selection of free groceries to food stamp holders. It is believed that this grocery store will help 4,500 people in this area by 2025. Just like any other grocery store, you will find everything from milk and eggs to fresh produce and canned foods here.
While talking about this free food market on its opening on Sunday, London Breed, Mayor of San Francisco, said, “The opening of the Community Market in District 10 is a major step toward improving food access in a part of the City that has historically been a food desert. Equitable access to fresh and healthy food options is critical for communities to thrive and to ensure we take care of the City’s most vulnerable residents.”
Everything You Need To Know About This New Facility
As mentioned before, this District 10 Community Market is for the food stamp holders in the neighbourhood. It will further connect the neighbourhood to social services and serve as a community hub for resources and services. As per the San Francisco government’s official website, this market is for people with low income and those who meet all of the following criteria:
- Be a resident of 94124, 94107, or 94134 zip codes
- Receive public assistance, including programs such as CalFresh, Medi-Cal, and CalWORKs; or is otherwise low-income (as defined by earning less than 300% of the federal poverty level)
- Have children in the household or have a diet-related illness
- Be referred by a community organisation in the Market’s referral network
They will be issued a grocery card which they can use to get free groceries once a month. For now, this free food market in San Francisco will be open on Wednesdays and Fridays.
This is indeed a great initiative by the authorities for the betterment of the community. Do let us know your thoughts about this free food market in San Francisco in the comments.
Cover Image Courtesy: Canva (representative image)
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