This S.F. nonprofit is paying for groceries, no questions asked

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It’s a Friday night in the Excelsior, and the nonprofit the Noticing Folk Foundation is launching the latest edition of its “Blessing Program.”

For one hour at Casa Lucaz, at 4555 Mission St., the nonprofit will cover the cost of all patrons’ groceries. 

“No strings attached. No criteria checks. It’s just a way to show people that someone cares about them,” says Elias Domingo, the community engagement lead at the Noticing Folk Foundation, a social-impact group founded in November last year. 

There is little information about the group: Tax filings showing revenue are not yet public. A representative of the nonprofit described it as a new cultural center in the Mission “dedicated to contributing to the landscape of SF in meaningful ways” through exhibitions, seminars, community events, and direct and mutual aid. 

For Domingo, who grew up here just outside the working-class Excelsior, it’s hard not to see how his life has bled into this work. It took “a lot of luck” for Domingo to end up at a private elementary school, he says.

His neighbors were his classmates’ cleaning ladies, and he saw firsthand how many of the city’s opportunities felt out of reach for the people who grew up here.

“We’re trying to make it less the case that people have to rely on luck or access to mentorship to get opportunities in San Francisco,” he adds. “There’s this cliche in San Francisco that at some point, you have to move away.”

Previously, the Noticing Folk Foundation partnered with the Mission-based bag company Aer to donate four dozen backpacks to students at John O’Connell Technical High School, and sponsored four hours of free Excelsior Coffee to commuters at Mission Street and Silver Avenue. 

On another afternoon, the group set up a table in the Bayview and gave out 100 free meals from San Francisco chain Super Duper Burgers. QR codes linking to employment resources dotted the site. Representatives from restaurant management group Back of House Inc. answered career questions.

At Casa Lucaz, the first customers of the night line up at the cash register. There are papayas and mameys — a sweet fruit native to Central America — and sweet limes stashed into totes.

Toilet paper and what looks like a coloring book poke out of another basket. At the cash register, one customer’s mouth drops suddenly. She smiles at the cashier’s words.

Another woman ambles over to where Domingo is standing behind the counter. 

“Thank you. I really needed this. I didn’t know if I—” Katherine Bonilla’s voice cracks. Tears well in her eyes. Behind her, twin girls twirl.

This is the Noticing Folk Foundation’s third time partnering with an independent grocery store in the city. Earlier, it went to Pearl Market in the Western Addition, Casa Guadalupe in the Mission and the Salama Food Center in the Tenderloin.

All are stores that primarily serve low-income customers. The Foundation is confirming dates to pop up at Super Save in Bayview next, and plans to return to the Salama Food Center.

“These are stores that already serve the community in a real way. We just want to support what they’re doing,” Domingo said.

Kevin Espinoza has a big grin on his face as he saunters out of Casa Lucaz with his bag of groceries. “We’re in difficult times. It’s meaningful to help the community like this,” he says.

“Everything is so expensive right now,” adds a second customer, Hugo Rivera.

Behind the cash register, Zelene Limon is one of the attendants checking out her customers’ groceries. She says that most customers thought that she was joking when she said that their groceries were covered. 

“Some had no words. They didn’t feel it was real,” says Limon. Domingo adds that some customers think there’s a catch — that someone is trying to get them to go to church.

This reporter estimates that somewhere around $1,800 worth of groceries were sold in the hour-long period on Friday night. It seemed that most customers appeared genuinely surprised at the counter to learn that their bill would be waived. 

The foundation’s hope, says Domingo, is not to make leaders out of this initiative per se. “We just want to inspire other people in San Francisco to do this for their own communities.”

Readers with questions or wanting to get involved with the Noticing Folk Foundation can contact hello@noticing.org.