{"id":26165,"date":"2023-04-26T12:58:47","date_gmt":"2023-04-26T19:58:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=26165"},"modified":"2023-04-26T13:01:03","modified_gmt":"2023-04-26T20:01:03","slug":"whole-foods-says-its-civic-center-location-closed-over-safety-concerns-thats-not-the-whole-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/04\/26\/whole-foods-says-its-civic-center-location-closed-over-safety-concerns-thats-not-the-whole-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Whole Foods says its Civic Center location closed over safety concerns. That\u2019s not the whole story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

OPINION<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nuala Bishari<\/a>, Soleil Ho<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

April 25, 2023 (SFChronicle.com)<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"There
There are many narratives for why Whole Foods closed its store near Civic Center in San Francisco. Which one is right?Yalonda M. James\/The Chronicle<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When the Whole Foods Market at San Francisco\u2019s Civic Center suddenly announced a temporary closure on April 10 due to unspecified safety concerns, national political<\/a> pundits<\/a> were swift in seeing this as a telltale sign of the city\u2019s apocalyptic doomscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

San Francisco Supervisor Matt Dorsey responded by promoting a City Charter amendment<\/a> aimed at increasing Police Department staffing. \u201cWhole Foods\u2019 closure \u2014 together with many other safety-related challenges we\u2019ve seen recently \u2014 is Exhibit A as to why San Francisco can no longer afford NOT to solve our police understaffing crisis,\u201d he tweeted<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moderate political groups TogetherSF<\/a> and GrowSF, meanwhile, lamented the closure as a blow to equity and food security in the neighborhood, lambasting city officials for letting the situation get so dire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For his part, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday that he would be focusing state military and police resources<\/a>, including the California National Guard and the California Highway Patrol, on a renewed war on drugs in the neighborhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The narrative of shoplifting and drug use driving a chain out of the neighborhood was eerily similar to that of Walgreens last year<\/a>. After a video of a person shoplifting at a store on Market Street went viral, Walgreens blamed unchecked lawlessness as the reason for many of its store closures in the city. Later, however, news leaked<\/a> that the closures were primarily due to economic conditions born of the company\u2019s rapid store expansion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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