Neighbors Battle SF Food Bank Over Small Patch Of Green Space In SF's Dogpatch
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) - These days, even the smallest piece of land can become the center of a big fight. That is the case in San Francisco, right along Interstate 280 on the edge of the Dogpatch neighborhood, and it has neighbors at odds with one of the region's most respected charities.
"As you can see, our shelves are fully packed. We serve 140,000 people each week," explains Meredith Nguyen, chief operating officer for the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank.
The need for food is so tremendous that the food bank itself needs more space. The warehouse is beyond capacity, specifically in regard to truck access and parking.
"Really, our goal is to ensure that more people who need basic food support get it," says Nguyen. "And that property is critical to reach more people in need of food assistance."
For four years now, the food bank been planning to meet its growing needs with a nearby expansion, just across Interstate 280 on a little stretch of green that has long avoided heavy use.
"It is not common for there to be tree-filled, sunny spaces, next to the freeways," says Julie Christensen, head of the neighborhood's green benefit district. "That doesn't happen often. This is just a little bit of heaven and of course we have the best weather, in the neighborhood, Dogpatch."
Christensen calls the strip of green a buffer against the roar and pollution of the highway, a last refuge in a corner of the city increasingly squeezed by development.
"I think this is just a reminder, and we have these reminders all the time, that we need to be very thoughtful about how we use the space that's left."
It is a discussion larger than this one property. The once undesirable strips of land along Bay Area freeways are now very much in demand, and in the Dogpatch, that means a disagreement among even the best of neighbors.
"The food bank is a venerable institution," says Christensen. "We want them to be able to prosper and succeed, we want them to be able to expand."
At the food bank, leadership doesn't see any other option.
"Unfortunately, to date, there has been no alternative presented for a different space," says Nguyen.
For now, the space is in the hands of the food bank, they have the lease from Caltrans. Neighbors are still trying to change the food bank's mind. There is a community meeting planned for February 27.
