Healthy, culturally appropriate, and affordable food should be available to all San Franciscans. GLIDE’s Daily Free Meals Program supports low-income residents who struggle with food insecurity.

We are honored to be a part of an ecosystem of programs in the Tenderloin and across San Francisco that works so tirelessly to nourish our community. Heart of the City Farmers’ Market is a critical partner and hugely successful part of these efforts. 

We are deeply concerned by the proposal to relocate the Heart of the City Farmers’ Market from U.N. Plaza to Fulton Plaza. The smaller space and logistical constraints of Fulton Plaza put the entire market and the farmers who work there at risk of failing.

The move will eliminate parking for the market and move it further away from the BART station, reducing accessibility. This will make it more difficult for some customers to access the market and much more challenging for vendors to continue to participate in the market.  

Heart of the City is a vital source of nutrition for many people in the Tenderloin and surrounding areas. The Tenderloin lacks any full-service grocery stores, and many residents depend on the market for fresh and affordable fruits and vegetables.

Many who are struggling to make ends meet also use CalFresh (also known as food stamps, EBT, and SNAP) as a way to purchase food for themselves and their families. Over 20,000 people used CalFresh at the market in the past 12 months. The Market Match program doubles the value of CalFresh benefits, resulting in the distribution of over $2 million in free produce. 

The proposed relocation and subsequent risk to the market comes when San Franciscans are facing rising rates of food insecurity. Over 100,000 residents across 73,000 households have been impacted by the end of emergency allotments of CalFresh, which provided additional food assistance through the first three years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This relocation also comes at a difficult time for the farmers, who are still recovering from reduced sales during the pandemic.   

Increasing access to healthy, affordable food in the Tenderloin and across San Francisco helps drive GLIDE’s mission to build empathy, transform lives, and spread radical inclusivity.

GLIDE’s Daily Free Meals Program was founded as a weekly community potluck in 1969. 50+ years later, we now serve over 2,000 meals a day, 364 days per year.

As a champion for food equity, we stand with the farmers and community members in asking for the support that they need to continue providing the Tenderloin with nutritious and affordable food.