A free grocery store opens today at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Academic Middle School in San Francisco’s Bayview. The project is a collaboration between Amazon, the YMCA and Goodr, an organization dedicated to combating food waste in a sustainable way.

In the Bayview-Hunter’s Point neighborhood, 11% of children live below the poverty line, according to a 2022 census report.

The small, 28-square-meter free shop is stocked with essential goods such as fresh fruit and vegetables, dairy products, baking ingredients and bread. It also carries non-perishable goods and non-food items such as deodorant.

Amazon provided the funding, while the school’s premises were provided by the YMCA of San Francisco.

Goodr is responsible for store operations and restocks shelves by taking back excess products from stores and manufacturers. This is their first location in California and their thirteenth store nationwide.

Tyson Fechter is the principal of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School. He says, “As a community school, we meet the needs of our community. So that’s where we start: we get feedback, we see what’s working, what needs improvement, and who knows what it will look like next year. But it’s about constant improvement and iterating on what we have to make it even better.”

The store will be open weekly throughout the 2024-2025 school year.