§ 59.4. HEALTHY FOOD RETAILER INCENTIVES PROGRAM.

(a) Establishment. There is hereby created a Healthy Food Retailer Incentives Program for the City and County of San Francisco to be administered by the Department.

(b) Purpose. The purpose of the Program shall be to increase access to healthy food; reduce unhealthy influences such as tobacco, alcohol and processed foods high in salt, fat, and sugar in underserved parts of the City; and stimulate economic development and job creation by creating incentives for Healthy Food Retailers to open or expand in those underserved areas.

(c) Duties. In administering the Program, the Department shall:

(1) Coordinate efforts to promote and support Healthy Food Retailers with other public agencies in the City, including, but not limited to, the Department of Public Health, the Office of Small Business, the Planning Department, and the Human Services Agency.

(2) Develop strategic partnerships and meet regularly with community based organizations, schools and others for the purpose of promoting community engagement and Healthy Food Retailers in the City, and seek feedback from these community partners in major policy decisions.

(3) Coordinate and centralize City-wide incentives and technical assistance to promote the establishment and expansion of Healthy Food Retailers in areas of the City that the Department identifies as having a lack of access to Healthy Food Retailers. Towards that end, the Department shall, among other things, perform the following:

(A) Identify "underserved areas" of the City that lack access to Healthy Food Retailers.

(B) Identify obstacles deterring new and existing retailers from offering fresh, healthy foods and locating in the designated underserved areas, and develop strategies to address them.

(C) Coordinate existing incentives and develop new incentives to recruit, maintain, and develop new Healthy Food Retailers in the designated underserved areas, and ensure that existing food retailers in those areas are fully utilizing economic incentives and technical assistance. Such incentives and assistance to be made available to Healthy Food Retailers may include, but are not be limited to, technical support, training, assistance with permits and licensing, store redesign assistance, retail assessment, facade improvement, and access to grants and loans. In providing such incentives and assistance, the Department will engage community-based partners to promote the Program and engage local businesses and the surrounding community.

(4) Create, by December 1, 2013, a centralized resource center to provide information and technical assistance to persons, businesses, and organizations seeking to become Health Food Retailers.

(5) Explore how Healthy Food Retailers can enhance existing job training programs and provide new job training and employment opportunities for San Francisco residents, including low income individuals and youth, and create incentives for Healthy Food Retailers to hire San Francisco residents.

(Added by Ord. , File No. 120966, App. 9/9/2013, Eff. 10/9/2013)