I think corner stores that don’t stock fruits now should start by stocking something unique. For example, the farmers at alemany market usually have some fruits or vegetables that the average store doesn’t carry. A corner store could “specialize” by stocking one of those. Then there could a “jujube” corner store or some other kind of fruit.

And just to clear, we’re actually not asking people to shop exclusively at their corner stores. Simply to give it a shot more often than you may already be, or to try it for the first time if you’ve never been in at all. Beyond the environmental impact, it’s a way to help the locally-owned stores in the neighborhood stay in business when they’re being pressured to get fancy or be replaced in the Mission. There’s no reason that Bi-Rite should have a lock on the super nice produce in the neighborhood (and wouldn’t it be nice if it weren’t always so incredibly crowded?). The Mission has an amazing corner store/bodega culture already, so you’re lucky to have a head start compared to many neighborhoods.

Kit Hodge, CEO, Neighbors Project

If you assume that you must drive to the big box store, then you’ve got it backwards on the truck issue. Large markets and big box stores create far more vehicle miles and carbon emissions because people drive to them instead of walking to their local store. It’s more efficient for the truck to make 1 delivery to Safeway than 10 bodega deliveries, but less efficient for everyone else. Plus, again, shopping in the hood keeps money in the hood.

But selection is definitely key, and is a more serious issue than the number of varieties of Johnny Walker available behind the counter. In neighborhoods without access to fresh produce, reliance on the corner market is more of a scourge than anything. Luckily in the Mission we have great produce markets all over the place, with excellently low prices.