San Francisco Creates Office of Food Security Coordination After Mayor Lurie Signs the Ordinance

Mayor Daniel Lurie on Tuesday signed an ordinance creating a permanent Office of Food Security Coordination inside the San Francisco Human Services Agency, formalizing how the city fights hunger as federal cuts squeeze CalFresh and other aid. The Board of Supervisors had already passed the measure unanimously. A new Food Security Council will advise City Hall on longer-term fixes beyond emergency groceries and meals.

What the office does

Under File No. 260869 on the city's Legistar system, the office sits inside SFHSA and must coordinate citywide work on food insecurity, prepare a Food Security Report every five years, map the city's food services and resources, and plan for emergency food needs. Lurie's office said the office will pull together programs that, as of 2023, were spread across nine city entities, even though SFHSA already administers more than 70% of the money.

The San Francisco Examiner reported in September, when the Rules Committee advanced the bill, that SFHSA handles nearly three-fourths of the city's roughly $200 million in food funding and planned to staff the office with three employees, plus planning and grant support. That hearing coverage said a 15-seat Food Security Council would replace the older Food Security Task Force, with seats for city departments, community groups and residents who have lived with food insecurity.

Why City Hall moved now

Lurie introduced the legislation in July. In Tuesday's signing statement, his office tied the office to last year's scramble when a federal shutdown threatened SNAP benefits — CalFresh in California — and city and philanthropic partners backfilled aid for 112,000 San Franciscans in about a week. After Congress cut hundreds of millions of dollars for health care and food assistance through the H.R. 1 bill, the mayor's budget put $34 million toward helping residents stay enrolled in CalFresh and Medi-Cal. In September, the administration announced nearly $6 million in grants with United Way Bay Area and Project Open Hand to help people meet new federal work rules for food aid.

"San Francisco should be a city where families can stay and put down roots," Lurie said in the signing release. SFHSA Executive Director Trent Rhorer called access to nutritious, culturally appropriate food a basic right. Supervisors Danny Sauter and Alan Wong, among the co-sponsors, said the office should stop residents from getting bounced between agencies when they need groceries or meals.

What the numbers show

In fiscal year 2024-25, SFHSA said it distributed 4.4 million meals, 1.27 million grocery bags and 196,000 grocery vouchers. The agency reported that 93% of clients in its community food programs said they and their families were less hungry because of that help, and more than 94% of older adults and adults with disabilities said they were less worried about getting enough food. Disability and Aging Services Director Kelly Dearman and Public Health Director Daniel Tsai both tied the office to keeping vulnerable residents connected to food and health supports.

Community partners echoed the signing. FAACTS Project Director Jade Quizon pointed to pandemic-era coordination that fed San Franciscans when systems were strained. San Francisco-Marin Food Bank Executive Director Tanis Crosby said hunger in the city is at historic levels and that people with lived experience of food insecurity should sit at the center of the office's mandate.

What happens next

Signing closes the legislative step after the Board's final action on Oct. 6. Next comes standing up the office inside SFHSA, seating the Food Security Council and producing the five-year report the ordinance requires. Residents who need help today can still apply for CalFresh through county channels and local pantries. For statewide student CalFresh changes, see our story on expanded CalFresh eligibility for California college undergraduates.