Bi-Rite, along with 18 Reasons and Crankstart, are opening a nonprofit grocery store in San Francisco.
Benjamin Fanjoy/Special to the Chronicle
Access to fresh foods in San Francisco’s Sunnydale neighborhood, one of the city’s lowest income and underserved communities, has historically been limited. Now, a collaborative effort aims to alleviate this gap by bringing a nonprofit grocery store to the neighborhood.
Local food education nonprofit 18 Reasons has teamed up with San Francisco grocery chain Bi-Rite and community foundation Crankstart, to open Sunnydale Market this fall. (The opening was first reported by the San Francisco Standard.) The 2,800-square-foot-market at 1515 Sunnydale Ave. will carry fresh produce, pantry staples and culturally appropriate foods, reflecting the neighborhood’s diverse makeup, which includes Black, Asian and Latino groups. Food will be sold just above wholesale costs — an average 35% to 45% below typical grocery prices — according to an announcement, and the market will accept SNAP and WIC vouchers. Sunnydale Market will not sell alcohol, tobacco or ultra-processed foods.
Sarah Nelson, executive director of 18 Reasons, said her group will oversee the store’s design and product selection, as well as host nutrition and cooking classes. Bi-Rite will manage the store’s inventory and daily operations while Crankstart has made a five-year commitment to cover wages, rent and utilities, which will allow the store to sell groceries at wholesale prices. Other organizations will also provide funding, including the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank and the Stupski Foundation, a Bay Area health- and food-focused philanthropic group.
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Nelson said that she and Sam Mogannam, Bi-Rite’s second-generation owner and a 18 Reasons board member, have been discussing a nonprofit grocery store for some time. Bi Rite’s longstanding relationship with several distributors working out of the San Francisco Wholesale Produce Market will be key in keeping prices low. “We want to have a real grocery store that has everything that someone would need to cook delicious food at home every day,” she said.
Bi-Rite owner Sam Mogannam is part of the collaborative effort behind Sunnydale Market.
Benjamin Fanjoy/Special to the Chronicle
The store coincides with national discourse around nonprofit groceries, following recently elected New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani’s initiative to open city-owned stores. Nelson said that she and her group have studied Boston nonprofit Daily Table, which operated several stores from 2012 until it shut down in 2025. They hope Sunnydale will provide a “proof-of-concept for how philanthropy and nonprofits can sustainably deliver grocery retail in low-income communities,” a press release states.
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Sunnydale is one of San Francisco’s most diverse communities, and one of its poorest. The neighborhood’s median household income is less than $20,000 — considerably lower than San Francisco’s $109,000 citywide household median, according to the press release. The USDA has designated the neighborhood as a low-income, low access area, as 40% of households don’t have a car and live over a half-mile from a grocery store. Other than a Grocery Outlet, Sunnydale does not have a large-scale grocery store. A Mercy Housing food assessment estimates that the annual unmet demand for groceries in the neighborhood surpasses $5.5 million.
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Options in District 10, which includes Sunnydale, Bayview and Visitacion Valley, are also limited. Mi Rancho Supermarket, a Mexican grocery chain, opened in the Bayview in 2024, however, a Lucky store closed in 2025. “When for-profit retailers see that they can’t make money anymore they just leave and no one comes in to fill the gap,” Nelson said.
The city operates a free food pantry in the district, D10 Community Market, but it has a full waiting list and limited hours.
The new store will provide “families access to fresh and affordable food without having to travel far outside the community,” Sunnydale resident Moselini Mauga said in the press release. “For many residents, transportation can be a challenge, so having healthy options close to home makes a real difference.”
Sunnydale Market will be set inside Amani, an affordable housing development with 80 units and 20,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. Amani is part of the Sunnydale Hope SF housing project, which is being developed by nonprofit Mercy Housing and real estate firm Related California. The store is expected to create more than 10 jobs, with priority given to Sunnydale and Visitacion Valley residents.
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For Nelson, opening the grocery store is significant as federal cuts to food assistance and medical programs continue to impact local residents. The price of foods at local supermarkets has also increased in the past year.
“People are choosing not only between rent and food, but also medical care. So we’re already seeing these impacts of food insecurity rising, more people seeking services, and that I think is going to continue to rise,” she said.