Increasing Food Access for San Francisco
By Vinny Eng
This week marks six months of sheltering in place. The needs of vulnerable community members, wage workers, and small businesses are revealing deep faults in business models and wide gaps in support services to those in need. Individuals are experiencing pressures related to the economic distress caused by Covid-19. Prior to March 2020, at least 1 in 4 San Franciscans experienced food insecurity (1). At last measure by the City in July, as many as 1 in 3 San Franciscans have received support from a city-funded food relief program.
Suddenly, every nonprofit in the city became a feeding relief organization. The universality of food insecurity during Covid-19 atomized the community as multiple aid efforts sprang up. More people than ever were deputized to address the intractable problems of hunger and poverty.
Rapid response community feeding programs like SF New Deal opened a portal for neighbors and small businesses to help out in a time of immense need. Delivered meals became a vital supplement to existing food pantry sites. We intentionally set the price at $10 per meal - it was enough to cover the basics of protein, fiber, and a vegetable and leave a margin for operators to cover other fixed costs of their operations and rehire formerly laid off workers. It also opened the aperture into the impact of providing higher quality experience to those in need, a signifier of the care and consideration of strangers that what was being offered was more than just a caloric supplement. Everyone is deserving of nutritious, high quality food regardless of where they live and the magnitude of their need.
In August, SF New Deal joined up with the Food Security Task Force (2) of the Department of Public Health to advise on what we’ve learned from our community feeding programs and how San Francisco can increase food access during and after Covid. Many underlying causes of food insecurity and poverty are a direct result of systemic racism, underinvestment in community needs and lack of pathways for opportunity and self determination. The overarching theme of the policy recommendations of the Task Force are a call to action: “San Francisco needs a sustained commitment to end systemic racism and address structural barriers to health including food insecurity.”
There were a few more ideas that we think are pertinent and warrant further attention. Solutions must center our neighbors closest to need, emphasizing these frameworks:
Child-centered - Keeping San Francisco affordable for families and laying the groundwork for zero child hunger in our city.
Racial equity - Covid-19 has a disproportionate health and economic impact on Black, Latin and Immigrant communities. These impacted communities must be in the center of every conversation and in executive leadership positions at organizations and businesses of every sector in food systems, especially hunger relief nonprofits.
Disability access - With limited public transit service and reduced outreach due to shelter-in-place restrictions, we must prioritize accommodations for those with physical and/or mental disabilities.
Increasing the dignity of choice and investing in regenerative, higher quality solutions - ending hunger requires that we provide people with more choices on how to feed themselves and their families. This includes increasing the benefit levels of federal programs like SNAP and CalFresh, and investing in local & culturally appropriate solutions that support self determination. Establishing a community land trust that invests in urban agriculture projects can grow the reach of local farmers and provide tens of thousands of pounds of fresh produce to families and children.
Proximity - Time is precious and not all neighborhoods have quick access to fresh produce and high quality prepared meals . Increasing food access must also include coordination among providers to ensure that options are easily available within 15 minute walking/biking for all residents. We have the skills and technology to eliminate food deserts, to minimize wait time in lines for pantries and to increase last-mile distribution to households.
You can read the full letter outlining SF New Deal’s additional recommendations for increasing food access for all San Franciscans here.
When our team of volunteers started SF New Deal back in March, we had hoped that by the end of the summer we’d be able to wind down support programs as school resumed and the economy opened back up. Many of us were eager to believe that coordinated responses would limit the persistent threat of this crisis. Six months in, and we are gingerly tip-toeing into reopening as food insecurity continues to grow.
In the 18-26 month road to recovery ahead, meeting the essential needs of San Franciscans remains a persistent and urgent matter. SF New Deal meals are a worthy short term endeavor, but in the long term we must do things differently to end hunger and establish self-sufficiency for everyone in San Francisco. We can advance the dignity of everyone in our community and come out of this crisis stronger, more resilient, and actualizing solutions that establish better systems for collective care.
Join us by volunteering or donating today.
1: SF Department of Public Health Food Security Task Force 2020 Policy Recommendations https://www.sfdph.org/dph/files/mtgsGrps/FoodSecTaskFrc/docs/FSTF_2020_RECOMMENDATIONS.pdf
2: The Food Security Task Force (FSTF) was established in 2005 by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and charged with the responsibility of creating a city-wide plan for addressing food security. The FSTF recommends to the Board of Supervisors legislative action and city-wide strategies that would increase participation in federally funded programs. FSTF also provides general advice and assistance to the Board of Supervisors with regard to funding priorities, legislative action, and City policies on addressing hunger and enhancing the food security of San Francisco residents in addition to any other issues within the Task Force's expertise.