Commonwealth Club: Recipe for Impact: How Sunnydale Market’s Social Enterprise Model Works

What happens when community knowledge, nonprofit purpose, business expertise, and long-term philanthropy come together to solve a basic neighborhood need? San Francisco’s Sunnydale Market offers a compelling and nutritious answer. Created in response to residents’ love of neighborhood, and their need for fresh and affordable groceries, the Sunnydale Market is catalyzed by community voices, the nonprofit 18 Reasons, and the for-profit Bi-Rite Family of Businesses. The Sunnydale Market partnership finds its home in a larger redevelopment made possible by Mercy Housing, Related Companies, and HOPE SF. It is important that this partnership is made financially possible by a long-term commitment from Crankstart. Crankstart funding covers core operating costs so that fresh groceries can be offered to the Sunnydale community at wholesale cost. Sunnydale Market will anchor a thriving neighborhood hub, provide new and better jobs, and attract customers and visitors to Sunnydale to boost other neighborhood businesses and groups. The Social Impact Forum will ask whether this promising model can create a market that will endure and that can be replicated elsewhere, while also considering community ownership and intergenerational wealth creation as important reference points in the broader social-enterprise landscape. You’re invited to be part of this warm group discussion, and exchanging ideas with others over the subsequent community reception, with food and beverages provided by Bi-Rite. About the Speakers Pastor Sonya Brunswick is the senior pastor of Greater Life Church of San Francisco and is deeply committed to social justice and community empowerment. As a leader in the San Francisco Bay Area, Pastor Brunswick has long advocated for high-potential youth and young adults, particularly those in the Sunnydale-Visitacion Valley community, where Greater Life Church serves. Pastor Brunswick leads initiatives critical to the health and welfare of neighborhood residents, including the Church's annual Community Health Fair, school snacks and supplies, grocery giveaways, and many other events and services. She is a veteran of the United States Air Force, an entrepreneur, leadership consultant, workshop facilitator, speaker, and the CEO of Bold City Coffee Company, one of Sunnydale Market’s neighboring businesses. She is a San Francisco native, born and raised in Visitacion Valley, and has been in ministry for over 30 years. Sam Mogannam is the founding partner and second-generation owner of the Bi-Rite Family of Businesses, and a founder of 18 Reasons. Bi-Rite is a values-driven, Certified B Corporation, on a mission of creating community through food. Under Sam’s leadership, the Bi-Rite family has grown to include three neighborhood Markets (soon four!), a world-renowned creamery, a creative catering company, and a small farm. Sam co-authored Eat Good Food: A Grocer’s Guide to Shopping, Cooking and Creating Community Through Food to inspire a broader audience about the value of creating community and eating good food. Sarah Nelson is executive director of 18 Reasons, and has worked on food-related projects in the Bay Area since 2008. In 2011, she founded the nonprofit Three Squares, which merged with 18 Reasons in 2013. She launched Cooking Matters in the Bay Area in 2010, and helped launch Nourishing Pregnancy and Food as Medicine. In her previous work with Bay Area farmers' markets, she created the Bay Area’s first Market Match program. In her youth, she taught yoga and guided bicycle tours in France. She is passionate about cooking, rock climbing, riding her bike, and working toward a more equitable and delicious future. Our convenor and moderator, Ian McCuaig, is the founder & co-chair of the Social Impact Forum, and founder of Track & Share, helping nonprofits to track performance and share their results. He previously headed fundraising for the Osher Marin JCC, Chinese Hospital, and On Lok. Ian served as president of two majo…