San Francisco’s Only Free Grocery Store Is Featured in a New PBS Special

The community effort, run by Bayview Senior Services, was born out of food insecurity concerns that have continued to make headlines, especially during the recent government shutdown, which delayed federal food assistance benefits for millions of Californians. Discounted, government-run grocery stores have also become a key part of the affordability agenda proposed by New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.

The D10 Market is now featured in a new PBS special, hosted by James Beard Award-winning chef Lidia Bastianich, called Lidia Celebrates America: A Nation of Neighbors, which makes its broadcast television debut on Tuesday, Nov. 25. In the show, Bastianich profiles a handful of community-oriented food efforts, including a pay-what-you-can kitchen in Denver, Colorado; a hub for Japanese Americans in Portland, Oregon; and a daily meal drive for survivors displaced by the Los Angeles wildfires earlier this year.

KQED’s Brian Watt spoke with Bastianich and Morris. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Brian Watt: How did you get the idea for this special?

Lidia Bastianich: I came [to the United States] as a young immigrant, and I was helped by neighbors. And of all times, this is the time where neighbors really need to be neighbors. There’s nobody like a neighbor. Family might be distant, but your neighbor is right there. And if you have a neighbor in need, you should be there for them.

One of the places you profile is the D10 Market in San Francisco. When you went, what was it like? What stood out to you?

Bastianich: As a chef, what I look at is the product. Certainly seeing it so beautiful and having it available for people who don’t have the actual logistics of encountering that kind of food. The whole thing felt so proper and so good and so respectful of food and of people.

Geoffrea Morris: One of the things that we, at the market, decided is that when you come in, it will look fresh. [We] try to do organic, partnering with farms. The whole idea was to come in with dignity [and that] nothing about the place look subpar.

But what have been some of the challenges?

Morris: Sometimes you get too much food, and then sometimes, grocery stores may try to send you bad stuff. So we developed a whole criteria, what food we would take because we want the highest quality. People come in and can’t believe that everything is free because the quality is just above standard.

Bastianich: What was also amazing [was] the control element. There was a note in three languages: “one basket per customer” or “four lemons per customer.” So then it was a respect that there’s enough for everybody, that it’s not abused.

What really strikes me about taking a close look at this theme of neighbors helping neighbors is in light of the most recent government shutdown and people not being able to afford food.

Morris: We ramped up our volunteers [and] storage. Luckily, Mayor [Daniel Lurie] was able to secure gift cards for people whose benefits were delayed because of the shutdown, but our capacity still increased. At the time, we were meeting around 3,000 people [a month]. That number increased maybe like a third. But our doors continue to be open.

Bastianich: [Like] “microclimate,” “microindustries,” this is [about] microliving and connecting with each other on a basic level. We all need to be nourished to survive. And when that is done, then we can move on to next things.

I’m curious if you have any insight to share about one of New York City Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani’s big affordability proposals: city-owned and operated grocery stores. It’s not free, like the D10 Market, but the idea is to make food more accessible and affordable.

Morris: I would initially ask him to start off with a food-empowerment market like the one we have, where you build up all the infrastructure to take in the food donations and see if that is helping the people. Baltimore with the Salvation Army tried to do a low-cost supermarket. It came out with great fanfare but actually closed. In Oakland, [they] tried something similar, as well. The freeness [of our model] makes it more viable for one huge location with extended hours. America has enough food. It’s just the refrigeration and the cost of infrastructure.