San Francisco supervisor working to bring more supermarkets to the city
SF leaders pushing for more supermarkets
SF Supervisor Bilal Mahmood is introducing a package of legislation aimed at bringing more supermarkets to food deserts in the city.
SAN FRANCISCO - For many San Franciscans, the trip to a supermarket is a rare treat. The city is dotted with food deserts, where there are no supermarkets and people shop at corner stores instead.
Finding affordable food
San Francisco Supervisor Bilal Mahood is introducing the Affordable Groceries Act, a set of legislation and ballot measures aimed at turning vacant buildings into bustling supermarkets.
"We're facing two affordability crises around food," said Supervisor Mahmood.
"Number one: Food's expensive; milk, tomatoes, produce, the price of inflation is going up. At the same time, we're facing these zombie stores. Where large chain corporations are holding grocery stores and pharmacies vacant, they're paying thousands of dollars on their lease just to block another competitor from coming in."
Taxing vacant stores
The supervisor said the aim would be to make food more affordable for the more than 48,000 San Franciscans who struggle to afford groceries by converting closed supermarkets, corner stores and pharmacies into supermarkets.
It would also tax vacant buildings to discourage businesses from leaving. It's a plan partly inspired by what's happening in New York City.
"We could also use that affordable grocery fund to do what Mayor Mamdani is doing in New York, which is buying property and then leasing it out to affordable grocers," said Supervisor Mahmood.
A more nutritious example
Supervisor Mahmood said a model for how this could work is Dalda's community market in the Tenderloin.
Satinder Multani, known as Bill to his customers, said providing nutritious food to the community is important, and he welcomes more businesses looking to do the same. "I think more would be better because the more people get used to it, the more people are going to buy," said Multani.
Jacquelin Walker said before Dalda's opened, her food options were limited and there was a lot more processed food in her family's diet. "When my kids were younger it was easier to get something just so they're filled," said Walker. "But, now I'm like no, no, no, we need something better."
Now, that's all changed. "Day to day, at least, dinner is going to have some kind of salad or cook some fresh spinach, something where you're going to get some kind of vegetable, like it or not, you're going to get something in your diet that's going to help you, Walker said.
What's next:
The legislation will have to be approved by the Board of Supervisors, and then voters will have their say in November.