Today I announced the Affordable Groceries Act to address our growing affordability crisis in San Francisco.
For years, the price of milk, fresh vegetables, and more has been rising by double digits. At the same time, large chain corporations are leaving grocery stores and pharmacies as "zombie stores" - paying their lease to keep the storefronts vacant and block competition.
The Affordable Groceries Act aims to end those food deserts by providing stimulus incentives to new grocery stores and pharmacies, while taxing zombie stores to generate revenue that could be used to fund new stores that sell affordable, fresh food.
It works in 3 steps:
1. Streamline new stores, by eliminating conditional use permits for new groceries and pharmacies on vacant lots, while providing tax credits to reduce pharmacy gross receipts taxes.
2. Tax zombie stores, by ensuring that large chain corporations that deliberately leave grocery stores and pharmacies empty pay a vacancy tax for as long as they block competition from using the storefronts. The tax would not apply to small businesses, or to any new store that opens after January 2027.
3. Fund affordable groceries, by establishing an Affordable Grocery Fund that will subsidize operators that provide fresh affordable food. This could help corners stores convert into full grocery stores with fresh food, or let the city purchase buildings and rent them out to grocery operators who agree to keep prices low.
We're bringing Affordable Groceries Act to the ballot this November, so you can make your voices heard that every San Franciscan deserves fresh affordable food in their neighborhood.