(a) Establishment of Fund. The Food Empowerment Market Fund (the “Fund”) is established as a category four fund to receive any monies appropriated or donated to address food insecurity in the City’s most vulnerable neighborhoods and equip those communities with tools and skills to produce and prepare their own healthy and culturally appropriate food and to define their own food systems, otherwise referred to as “food sovereignty.” Donations to the Fund are deemed approved for acceptance and expenditure.
(b) Use of Fund. The Human Services Agency (HSA) shall use monies in the Fund to provide grants to nonprofit organizations to establish and operate food empowerment markets.
(c) Food Empowerment Market Defined. For purposes of this Section 10.100-73, a “food empowerment market” shall mean a community facility having all of the following characteristics:
(1) The facility has a free food market for the distribution of donated or discounted food and other supplies related to cooking and dining from commercial grocery retailers, food suppliers, and community food banks, as well as from any other sources;
(2) The facility has a free delivery service for people who, by reason of their age, underlying health conditions, or other factors, would have difficulty accessing the market and its programs;
(3) The facility has a community kitchen onsite or is in partnership with an offsite community kitchen that teaches healthy cooking, restaurant skills, and culinary education, using, in whole or in part, the donated food and supplies;
(4) The facility has cultural and linguistic competence in addressing food security, nutrition, and related issues for the City’s vulnerable residents, based on demonstrated empathy and understanding of and respect for the values, historical context, expectations, language, and experience of diverse communities;
(5) The facility provides referrals to government and community social services addressing food security, nutrition, and related issues; and
(6) The facility provides food and services to any San Francisco resident who is:
(A) Receiving public assistance, including programs such as Calfresh, Medi-Cal, and Cash-Aid; or
(B) A member of the undocumented community; or
(C) An occupant of a Residential Hotel unit as defined in Administrative Code Section 41.4; or,
(D) An individual ineligible for government assistance but affiliated with or sponsored by a San Francisco community-based agency doing work related to food security, nutrition, and related issues. Such individuals shall, subject to HSA’s rules and the market’s own procedures, be allowed to access the services and programs of the market for a specified time.
(d) Administration of Fund. HSA shall administer the Fund.
(1) No later than six months after the effective date of the ordinance in Board File No. 210567 enacting this Section 10.100-73, and prior to issuing any grants, HSA shall adopt rules for the grant program consistent with this Section.
(B) HSA shall consult with the Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD) on the development of the rules for the grant program as they affect the community kitchen component.
(C) Subject to the budgetary and fiscal provisions of the Charter, HSA may contract with a grocery or supermarket business consultant to assist HSA with developing the rules for the grant program and to assist grantees with setting up the food empowerment markets, and the costs of such contract may be charged to the Fund.
(2) The rules shall at a minimum establish a selection process for awarding grants, eligibility criteria for providers receiving grants, procedures for determining the size and frequency of grant awards, processes for disbursement of grant funds, restrictions on the use of grant funds, and reporting obligations for grantees. The rules may provide for separate grants programs for the initial establishment of the food empowerment markets and for the subsequent ongoing operation of those markets.
(3) The rules shall allow grantees up to 2 years after the award of the grant to open the community kitchen required under subsection (c)(3), above.
(4) The rules shall require that grantees work on an ongoing basis with the Department of Public Health, OEWD, and HSA to implement the food empowerment markets program and other City programs and guidance regarding food security, community nutrition, and public health where relevant to the operation of the food empowerment markets. Grantees shall cooperate with the Department of Public Health in the preparation of the biennial Food Security and Equity Report required by Administrative Code Chapter 59A, and, after the report is issued, shall conform their operations as much as possible to the relevant findings and recommendations contained in the report.
(5) The rules shall require each food empowerment market to have a district food liaison. The liaison shall serve as the primary point of contact for the facility, convene or participate in public meetings within the district regarding food security and related issues, and coordinate with public agencies on programs affecting the facility and administration of the grant, including coordinating with the Food Security Task Force. The liaison shall also oversee efforts to keep the local community informed about the facility and its offerings.
(6) The rules shall require each food empowerment market to have a community advisory board and shall include guidelines for the selection and administration of the advisory boards.
(7) Within 15 days after adopting initial rules for the grant program under subsection (d)(1), HSA shall submit a copy thereof to the Board of Supervisors. These rules shall not become effective, and HSA shall issue no grants thereunder, until at least 30 days after HSA has submitted the rules to the Board of Supervisors. Any subsequent rules or rule amendments adopted by HSA shall become effective immediately upon adoption, unless those subsequent rules or rule amendments specify otherwise.
(8) Subject to funding, HSA shall award grants for the establishment and operation of one food empowerment market each in Supervisorial Districts 6, 9, 10, and 11, in no particular order, and according to the boundaries of those districts as of the time of the grant award. Thereafter, HSA may expand the program to other Supervisorial districts. There is no limit on the number of food empowerment markets that may be located in a particular Supervisorial district, nor is there a requirement that all Supervisorial districts have a food empowerment market.
(e) Reporting. HSA shall, within the first two weeks of July, submit an annual report to the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor describing the implementation of the grant program.
(Added by Ord. 102-21, File No. 210567, App. 7/30/2021, Eff. 8/30/2021)
Editor’s Note:
This Section was originally designated as Sec. 10.100-72 when enacted by Ord. 102-21. In order to avoid conflicting with previously existing material under that designation, the editor has redesignated this Section and renumbered the internal cross-references accordingly, at the direction of the Office of the City Attorney.