Good Neighbors
San Francisco youth transform their Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood…one corner store at a time.

Youth in the Good Neighbor program. Credit: Literacy for Environmental Justice.

Situated at the top of a hill overlooking the San Francisco Bay, the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood has one of the most beautiful views in San Francisco—and one of its most controversial histories.

The Navy used the land for the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard during World War II, often burying toxic waste in the land and water. After the war, African Americans displaced by “urban renewal” programs in San Francisco moved to the neighborhood, working at the naval base and commercial shipyards.

Today, the naval base and several manufacturing plants no longer exist. The neighborhood lives in the shadow of these closings, dealing with high unemployment, poverty, and stalled toxic and radioactive waste cleanup efforts. Rates of cervical and breast cancer in Bayview-Hunters Point are higher than in any other part of San Francisco, and hospitalization for congestive heart failure, diabetes, and hypertension is more than three times the state average. Still, developers understand the value of a good view in San Francisco, so the mostly low-income residents also face increasing gentrification and higher housing costs.

Added to this, Bayview-Hunters Point struggles with food insecurity; purchasing fresh, healthy food is an exercise in ingenuity. If you want to go to one of the closest grocery stores, prepare yourself for an hour-and a half long, two-transfer bus ride. If you choose to shop in the neighborhood, your best option is the bodegas or corner stores.

Gwendolyn Smith, the Good Neighbor Program Coordinator at Literacy for Environmental Justice lived in the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood for more than fifteen years. “My mom was somewhat well off, I mean she had a car,” says Smith. “We had to travel to get our food because there really weren’t any grocery stores in the neighborhood, just corner stores.”

Until a few years ago, these corner stores were best for an alcohol or tobacco fix. Finding lettuce or carrots was nearly impossible; the stores couldn’t afford the refrigeration units to keep the produce fresh.

Good Neighbor program awareness poster. Credit: Literacy for Environmental Justice.

“[The corner stores] are there to make money,” Smith adds. “They really don’t have to supply sustainable food in their stores. We knew we had to tackle the issue with economic incentives and social responsibility.”

Literacy for Environmental Justice (LEJ) is based in the heart of Bayview-Hunters Point. Located on the corner of Innes Avenue and Aurelious Walker Drive, the nonprofit is a block from the San Francisco Bay and another block from the abandoned Naval shipyard. As a youth empowerment and environmental health and justice NGO, its Youth Envision program provides job training to Bayview Hunters Point youth in the fields of community-based participatory research; sustainable food access; marketing; popular education and organizing.

“Youth know their issues,” says Yoshioka. “We train the youth to be community advocates and give them as much experience as possible.”

A Good Neighbor recruitment poster. Credit: Literacy for Environmental Justice.

Continuing their research, youth diagramed eleven neighborhood corner stores, estimating the amount of shelf space dedicated to packaged food, alcohol and cigarettes, and other items. Tobacco and alcohol comprised 26 percent of the store items; junk food comprised another 38 percent.

Bayview-Hunters Point was officially food insecure; the lack of supermarkets, transportation, and low-quality foods created health and nutrition risks for the neighborhood’s 33,000 residents. The youth understood the situation; the question became, ‘What can we do about it?’

That simple question spawned LEJ’s Good Neighbor Program. Developed by LEJ in partnership with the San Francisco Department of Public Health and local advocates, the city-sponsored Good Neighbor program would partner with community-based organizations to reduce tobacco and alcohol advertising and sales at corner stores and increase the amount of fresh, healthy food.

Tobacco and alcohol companies routinely spend thousands of dollars targeting low-income communities like Bayview-Hunters Point.

“Corner stores can receive up to $1,200 per month to display a tobacco ad in a prominent location,” says Yoshioka. “The incentives to keep alcohol and tobacco ads and products were (and are) high; we knew we needed to provide equally attractive economic incentives to stock healthy foods.”

Initially, youth advocates met with Rainbow Cooperative Grocery, eventually convincing Rainbow to make bulk, low-cost, and organic replacements available to merchants participating in the Good Neighbor Program. Staff and youth worked with the city to learn about existing city-sponsored incentives, including infrastructure improvements, store branding, free advertising and cooperative buying opportunities.

Others pitched in. The San Francisco Redevelopment Agency provided façade improvements. The San Francisco Produce Market helped with marketing the produce interior layout designs in stores. Initially, the San Francisco Power Coop provided the stores with energy-efficient upgrades, including energy-efficient refrigeration units for the produce. Since the grant with the coop has not yet been renewed, LEJ is forming partnerships to get refrigeration units for the other Good Neighbor stores; without the refrigeration units, the program is often a no-go for retailers.

“Without the refrigeration units, it’s no good,” says Smith. “You can’t store the produce without refrigeration. And the cost is simply too much for most merchants.”

SuperSave Grocery, the largest food retailer in Bayview-Hunters Point, became the first pilot store for the Good Neighbor Program. Youth approached the store’s owner, Sam Aloudi, with a list of the Good Neighbor program requirements they developed, which included a 10 percent minimum of fresh produce, an additional 10 percent minimum of healthy foods and culturally appropriate products, participation in Food Stamps and WIC, adherence to environmental standards, limited tobacco and alcohol sales and ads, and a store policy of refusing alcohol and tobacco sales to minors.

Aware of changing neighborhood demographics, Aloudi decided to give the program a try. He was further convinced by the attractive incentives--$1,000 to purchase the pilot foods, a selection of energy efficient upgrades, free advertising in the community newspaper, prominent display of the Good Neighbor store brand, and in-store promotional activities.

Three years later, SuperSave is still a Good Neighbor. Produce is now 30 percent of its sales. It is no longer the only Good Neighbor store in Bayview-Hunters Point; five corner stores now participate in the program. Anecdotally, retailers say they make more money as Good Neighbors; LEJ is commissioning an evaluation to determine whether this is true.

Most important, youth drive the process. LEJ recruits from area high schools and colleges, and students are invested in the Bayview-Hunters Point community. Youth conduct the research, pitch the Good Neighbor Project to stores, speak with government officials, design the marketing and outreach, and head up in-store taste testings. They create the Good Neighbor standards. They live in the neighborhood and see the results of their work when they walk down the street.

“[The youth] know their issues,” says Yoshioka. “We just help them articulate their message and speak on behalf of their community. Helping someone find their voice…well, that helps make them truly effective youth leaders.”