San Francisco city officials held a meeting to discuss the impending closure of the Safeway supermarket in the Fillmore district, exploring solutions for both temporary and permanent replacements. The meeting highlighted the significant impact the closure will have on the community, particularly those already struggling with food insecurity.
San Francisco lawmakers convened a meeting on Monday, marking the first steps towards finding both temporary and permanent solutions for the impending closure of the Fillmore commercial corridor's Safeway supermarket. The Board of Supervisors' Land Use and Transportation Committee gathered four days prior to the permanent closure of the store located at 1335 Webster Street.
Align Real Estate, which acquired the property last year, initially planned to shut down the store in 2022 but reached an agreement with City Hall to keep it operational until 2025. District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, who represents the district encompassing the Safeway, spearheaded the committee hearing. He emphasized the profound impact the store's closure has on the surrounding communities. District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar chairs the committee, while District 11's Chyanne Chen is its other member. Local leaders and residents highlighted that the supermarket, situated on nearly 3.7 acres at the intersection of Fillmore and Webster streets, serving residents in the Fillmore, Japantown, and Western Addition neighborhoods, has effectively ceased operations after significant discounts were offered on its products in early August. The pharmacy, scheduled to close on Thursday, is currently operating between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Mahmood stated that Monday's hearing demonstrated the city's commitment to ensuring residents have convenient access to groceries and medications. It also reaffirmed the city's pledge to include a full-service grocery store in any potential new housing development on the site. Speakers during the hearing stressed the urgency of finding solutions due to the store's significance to its primary clientele. According to a presentation by San Francisco's Food Security Task Force, one in four San Francisco residents experiences food insecurity, defined as the inability to afford adequate, nutritious food. Cissie Bonini, a task force member, explained that the city's high cost of living, coupled with income and racial wealth disparities, has contributed to food insecurity among Safeway shoppers. The task force revealed that approximately 4,000 residents out of the Western Addition's roughly 34,000 live below 100% of the federal poverty line. Around 5,000 residents participate in CalFresh, officials from the task force indicated. The Western Addition also has the highest age-adjusted rates of hospitalization due to diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease, as per the presentation. Hospitalizations related to these illnesses were four times higher for Black Western Addition residents compared to the rest of the city, the task force stated
FOOD INSECURITY COMMUNITY IMPACT SUPERMARKET CLOSURE SAN FRANCISCO FILLMORE CITY PLANNING HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
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