SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — The SF Market – the Bay Area’s source for fresh produce, welcomed Congressman James McGovern (D-MA), Chairman of the House Rules Committee, to its Bayview Hunter’s Point facility on Thursday, August 19 during the Representative’s national listening tour to help advance a comprehensive nationwide plan to end food insecurity in America.
The visit was co-organized by the San Francisco Food As Medicine Collaborative and SPUR and included several local site visits. The 485,000 square-foot SF Market is home to 26 merchants who move millions of pounds of fresh produce through the Bay Area into independent retailers, restaurants and nonprofit organizations.
As part of its Food Recovery Program and the Food As Medicine CV-19 Emergency Response Program, The SF Market works directly with over 30 local organizations to ensure the community has access to high quality, nutritious food. These local programs are engaged in direct services for low-income residents, communities of color, seniors, youth, families, and unhoused community members.
To date, The SF Market programs have distributed a cumulative total of over 8 million pounds of produce and other food to Bay Area organizations, including nearly 5 million during the pandemic alone.
Congressman James McGovern (D-MA) represents Massachusetts’ 2nd congressional district as a member of the United States House of Representatives – a role he has held since 1997. McGovern is Chair of the House Rules Committee, Co-Chair of the House Hunger Caucus and member of the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations, firmly believing that food ought to be a fundamental right for all Americans.
“The Market is more than just vendors and distributors – they are people dedicated to providing mom and pop shops and restaurants with quality produce and ensuring that those in need have healthy food throughout the COVID pandemic. They’re an example of what can be achieved when we join forces and commit to expanding access to healthy foods in a way that respects the culturally diverse community. I’m looking forward to seeing how they further combat food insecurity in the years ahead as they look to expand their market and build on their incredible work,” said Chairman McGovern.
As Chair of the House Rules Committee, McGovern is advocating for a White House Food, Nutrition and Health Conference to explore a unified federal approach to food insecurity. The first and only conference of this nature took place at the White House in 1969, which led to landmark legislation to reduce food insecurity, such as SNAP, but McGovern says we are overdue for the next conference.
“I want to thank Congressman McGovern for his sustained leadership to advance the national conversation around food insecurity. Based on our own work here at The SF Market, we believe this is a discussion that is overdue,” said Michael Janis, General Manager and Executive Director of The SF Market. “We serve as a primary link between growers and the farming communities across 38 California counties and the food businesses in the Bay Area and fully support the idea of a White House Hunger Conference. We are here to support the Congressman in any way as the conference takes shape.”
ABOUT THE SF MARKET
The SF Market makes things grow–for farmers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers, restaurants, and communities. Home to 26 merchants in a single vibrant San Francisco marketplace, our diverse range of produce businesses supplies the widest, best-tasting selection of fresh produce available in Northern California. The market is a platform for critical access and scale–providing the food infrastructure, programs and relationships that help hundreds of farmers, Bay Area food businesses and their communities thrive. The SF Market is San Francisco’s original–and only–wholesale produce market. As a pillar of the Bay Area’s food economy and a non-profit social enterprise, we create jobs for over 500 people and foster efficiency, diversity and innovation. The market moves millions of pounds of fresh produce through the Bay Area, occupies 485,000 sq. ft. of food-focused warehouse and logistics space in San Francisco’s Bayview Hunter’s Point neighborhood, and has reinvestment plans to upgrade our facility designed to support new food businesses and an engaged community. The SF Market’s focus on growth extends to the entire food system–with programs directed toward local farmer partnerships, food recovery, and healthy retail policy. Learn more at www.thesfmarket.org.
