Healthy Retail Grant

Funder: City and County of San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development

The Healthy Retail Grant aims to improve access to healthy food options in underserved neighborhoods like Bayview and Tenderloin, driven by grassroots initiatives from organizations such as SEFA and TLHCSC. Established by the Office of Economic and Workforce Development following Supervisor Eric Mar's legislation in 2013, it provides tailored support to local stores through Individualized Development Plans, enhancing business operations, physical changes, and community engagement.

About Healthy Retail SF
The grassroots activism to provide healthy food options in the Bayview (by South East Food Access, SEFA) and the Tenderloin (by The Tenderloin Healthy Corner Store Coalition, TLHCSC on Facebook) has led to institutional change within city government. In 2013, Supervisor Eric Mar introduced legislation that created Healthy Retail SF, which is led by the Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD), under the Mayor Lee’s Invest in Neighborhoods initiative, in conjunction with the Department of Public Health.
Healthy Retail SF defines healthy retail; creates an expert advisory group; designs program structures and tools; and implements neighborhood wide outreach meetings with store owners. Each participating store receives a tailored 13-page Individualized Development Plan (IDP) that outlines activities, timelines, persons responsible and budget in three areas: business operations, physical changes to the store, and community engagement and marketing.
Community Food Advocates, called Food Guardians and Food Justice Leaders, are a critical element of the model.