Despite its reputation as a Mecca of farmers markets and foodie culture, San Francisco is also home to quite a few people who lack access to good, whole food. In the low-income Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood, for instance, residents have an 8- to 14-year decreased life expectancy compared to their neighbors in other parts of the city. This is due in large part to diet-related illnesses like diabetes, congestive heart failure, hypertension and other types of heart disease. In addition, nearly 42 percent of adults in San Francisco are overweight or obese, and only one-third of those adults eat three or more servings of fruit and vegetables each day.

As in most of the rest of the country, the problem is exacerbated by the fact that unhealthy food, beverages, alcohol, and tobacco products are disproportionately promoted in low-income neighborhoods or food “swamps”—areas with a lot of food but not much that is healthy.

A Community Responds

Alarmed by the growing nutrition-related illnesses in their community and inspired by a 2006 city-wide summit on dietary disparities, a large group of Bayview residents, community-based organizations, city agencies and others formed a working group called Southeast Food Access Working Group (SEFA). The goal was to create a “vibrant and robust food system” for people living in Bayview-Hunters Point by improving food access and diets through awareness and education, and developing community gardens.

SEFA’s first priority was to improve healthy food and retail grocery options in the neighborhood. In 2007, its members conducted and released a survey of resident food preferences that clearly showed a strong demand for healthy retail options. They also found significant retail “leakage” of $38 million as more than half of the survey respondents frequently traveled outside the neighborhood to buy groceries.

With these results in hand, SEFA launched the Food Guardian Project to improve the food retail environment. Building on lessons learned from previous healthy retail efforts in the Bayview, the project now trains are residents to become food justice experts who act as community liaisons with local food retailers. One of the group’s key goals is to strengthen—not burden—local, independently owned businesses and help them with education, technical assistance, equipment, and funding.

Using data from an exhaustive neighborhood corner store assessment they conducted in 2011, the Food Guardians rated each store, and scored the results, with three apples being the highest rating. The results were disheartening: Of the 24 stores serving the neighborhood, only two stores earned two apples while the rest earned one or less.

In response, the Food Guardians approached each store about converting to a healthier model. They gained traction with the owners of three stores, where owners were excited about the opportunity to make healthful changes. The Food Guardians, together with, a design firm that specializes in revamping independent grocery stores, began working with one of the three, called Lee’s Food market on the first store “conversion.”

The changes in San Francisco aren’t happening in a vacuum. All over the nation, public and private efforts have joined forces to create the healthy corner store movement in the last decade.  Food advocates have begun to see corner stores owners — especially in low-income urban and rural communities — as key to improving the availability of healthy, affordable foods. From the Healthy Neighborhood Market Network in Los Angeles to The Food Trust’s Healthy Corner Store Initiative in Philadelphia, important change is afoot.

Lee’s Food Market Before:
Lee’s Food Market After:

Lee’s Food Market was the first to participate in SEFA’s corner store conversion program. With loans and technical assistance, the store dramatically shifted its layout and product mix, as shown in these before and after photos. According to store owner Naif Jaber, “By offering healthier products, setting up our store in a more appealing way and removing most alcohol and tobacco advertising, we have seen real benefits. Our sales are up, and we no longer have as many problems on the sidewalk in front of our store.” Photos courtesy of San Francisco Department of Public Health.