Free food market comes to SFUSD middle school

SAN FRANCISCO - Students and families at Dr. Martin Luther King Academic Middle School in San Francisco’s Bayview neighborhood now have access to a free community market offering meats, fruits, vegetables, and other grocery staples.

The market, called the "Goodr Store," is located on the school’s campus and is a partnership between the Bayview-Hunters Point YMCA, the San Francisco Unified School District, and the company Goodr.

Drew Kodelja, senior director of the Bayview-Hunters Point YMCA, said the YMCA has operated a food pantry since the COVID-19 pandemic, but this new initiative is different. 

"This is a free community market," Kodelja said.

Goodr CEO and founder Jasmine Crowe-Houston said the store is designed to offer dignity to families dealing with the high cost of living in San Francisco. 

"We want people to feel like they're shopping in a store and not a food pantry," Crowe-Houston said.

The food provided by the store comes from local grocery stores and farmers markets, with Amazon covering the costs. The market officially opened for business today.

Students and their parents can visit the market during school hours, pick up a bag, and shop for items such as produce, meat, milk, and eggs. The goal is to provide families with about a week’s worth of food.

Sabrina Hall, a parent of a middle school student, said the market is much needed in the neighborhood, where food insecurity is a significant issue. 

"The food insecurity is from the cost of the food, the lack of grocery stores we have," Hall said.

Dr. Martin Luther King Middle School has about 500 students, each of whom can shop at the market twice a month. 

Goodr's founder and CEO said her goal is to open similar community markets on school campuses in Los Angeles and Oakland.