The Supermarket Street Sweep: Cycling to End Food Insecurity
By Kent Klaudt
The Supermarket Street Sweep is an annual charity bicycle event in San Francisco, California which collects food and raises money for the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank. Participants ride all over the city, buying groceries at various supermarkets on the route, in a friendly and informal race. Last held before the pandemic, 2023 saw a reboot of the much-loved event, now in its 15th year.
The most recent event was held on February 4, 2023. Forty-five racers met at noon at the Cupid’s Span sculpture on the San Francisco waterfront and were given a list of checkpoints (grocery store locations) known as a manifest, at the race start.
It takes a village. The SMSW volunteer crew.
The Street Sweep offered three competitive categories: Speed, Team, and Cargo. Speed racers had to visit multiple supermarkets and bring back specific food items from each location, with prizes awarded to the first riders to cross the finish line carrying the most items from as many locations as possible. Groups competing in the Team category had similar goals, with the focus being on food quantity by weight. The Cargo bike category had similar requirements, but with bonus points for the weight of additional food pedaled back to the finish line.
The Supermarket Street Sweep benefits the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank, whose mission is to end hunger in San Francisco and Marin. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, twenty percent of Bay Area residents were at risk of hunger. The San Francisco-Marin Food Bank addresses hunger with their food pantry network, home-delivered groceries, and CalFresh (food stamp) enrollment. More than 50,000 households rely on this food bank each week for assistance, and the food bank has pioneered many successful models aimed at ending hunger. In the last fiscal year, alone, the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank increased the amount of food it distributes by 67%.
Some Street Sweep racers who braved the rain.
Food insecurity has increased nationwide since the start of the pandemic, and has more than doubled in California. Hunger and food insecurity affect tens of thousands of San Francisco residents and wealthy Bay Area counties have the state’s highest levels of income inequality. Much of the poverty here is racialized and disproportionately affects people of color. The city’s Food Security Task Force (part of the Department of Public Health) reports that the number of San Francisco residents receiving assistance from CalFresh and the Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) has increased significantly since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of meals provided to seniors and adults with disabilities through the Department of Aging and Disability Services has also increased dramatically. All of this highlights the need for more action addressing hunger and poverty in our own backyard.
The Supermarket Street Sweep was created by Jenny Oh in 2006 and was inspired by a similar event in New York City called the Cranksgiving Race. The name is a play on a television game show called “Supermarket Sweep.” That first race in 2006 saw 80 cyclists bring in 1,172 lbs. of food. Attendance grew in subsequent years and by 2009 nearly 200 racers brought in more than 7,500 lbs. of food. The original team, including Jenny Oh, Mike Skolnick, and a host of repeat volunteers, helped make the 2023 reboot a success. Bicycle Law looks forward to continuing to sponsor this event that electrifies the cycling community and provides resources to those most in need.
To date, the Street Sweep has donated nearly 100,000 pounds of food and over $100,000 to the food bank.
Save The Date!
SMSW 16 has been set for November 4, 2023.
Follow @bicycle.law on Instagram to keep current on SMSW 16 developments.
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Bicycle Law’s lawyers practice law through Coopers LLP, which has lawyers licensed in California, Oregon, and Washington state, and can affiliate with local counsel on bicycle cases across the country to make sure cyclists benefit from cycling-focused lawyers.
Save The Date!
SMSW 16 has been set for November 4, 2023.
Follow @bicycle.law on Instagram to keep current on SMSW 16 developments.