A new nutrition program at a San Francisco middle school has introduced a free on-campus grocery store for students to use for themselves and their families.
The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Academic Middle School student store is a collaboration between Amazon, the YMCA of Greater San Francisco and the nonprofit Goodr Foundation, which delivers surplus food to those in need.
Goodr CEO Marli Crowe was at the school in the city’s Bayview neighborhood on Monday morning to ensure the store’s opening would excite students.
The MLK Jr. students are the first on the West Coast to have a store with dairy, fruits and vegetables, and basic groceries within easy reach. Crowe said data shows that this part of the city has become a food desert, making it difficult for the kids to get a nutritious meal.
“A lot of these students’ families are, unfortunately, economically disadvantaged,” Crowe said. “It’s a very diverse school, so I think we serve a lot of different students. I think the school is 40% Asian and 30% Latino. That’s what we’re seeing when we order things that are culturally relevant to them.”
The store will be available to students twice a month. Educators say they want to focus not just on academic performance, but on the child as a whole – if a child is hungry, even the best teachers can’t help.
“(Students) can focus on learning and not worry about where their next meal is coming from, and they can focus on helping their families,” Crowe said. “We see a lot of cases where a family says, ‘Hey, can you stop by the Goodr grocery store and buy eggs and milk?’ That helps the student and the family, and they can focus on learning.”
The students at the school are excited and know how hard their parents have to work to put food on the table.
“I think this is really important because some families really struggle with shopping and money,” said Olivia, an MLK Jr. student. “So I think it’s smart that the school system has a grocery store.”
The YMCA has highlighted the need in the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood, and Amazon says the store is an example of how the private and public sectors can work together to make a difference in underserved communities.
“Food insecurity is something no one in San Francisco should have to face, and we have a vision for a community without hunger,” said Sally Kay, Amazon’s regional director of public policy and external relations.
Starting this school year, MLK Jr. Academic students will no longer have to travel long distances to get nutritious meals. They will find what they need right upstairs at their school.
