Amid rising grocery prices and supermarket closures, Supervisor Bilal Mahmood on Tuesday unveiled a package of bills designed to tackle some causes of food insecurity in San Francisco.
The “Affordable Groceries Act,” as the District 5 supervisor is calling the bundle of legislation, would create a city-run fund that could be used to convert convenience stores into markets stocked with fresh produce and pantry staples at affordable prices. The legislation would also seek to discourage major national chains from closing stores by taxing their vacant buildings.
More than 48,150 San Franciscans struggled to afford food in 2024, according to a report from the San Francisco Food Security Taskforce, and Trump administration cuts to SNAP have made matters worse for some 21,000 low-income city residents at risk of losing the benefit by the end of next year…