Our Mission and Story

The story of Saba

Saba’s story demonstrates how public policy can unexpectedly spark positive community action. The passage of the 2016 Soda Tax in Oakland highlighted the disparities between the neighborhoods that voted for the tax and the neighborhoods where the tax would largely be collected, located mostly in East Oakland. Saba formed to help the community of corner store owners of East Oakland organize in a grassroots response to use the Soda Tax funds to combat childhood obesity and diabetes. Saba is proud to have grown out of a grassroots community organizing campaign, and to be operating a community identified solution in the food supply chain that centers equity and economic inclusion for corner stores, underserved residents and farmers.

Illustration with the text "Saba's Origin Story: The Campaign" on a gray background, featuring a ribbon and red oval design. Created by Kristen Lynn Zimmerman for SABA Grocers Initiative.

Comic panel of a person researching prediabetes at a laptop, expressing surprise that funds for prevention are going to the general fund.

Comic panel showing a small market called "2 Star Market" with an open sign. Two characters are talking inside about the recently passed soda tax. One asks, "What do you think about it?" The other responds, "I don't know much about it," and adds, "Th

Illustration of a person walking on a sidewalk, speaking in speech bubbles about working on community health research in 2016, focusing on alcohol sales, and connecting with Arab corner store owners.

Comic panel showing large soda cans on the left and two people talking on the right. One says "What if we used some of this tax to replace soda with produce?" The other replies, "If you're serious you should talk to Dhaifallah and the Yemeni American

Comic illustration of two individuals discussing produce management needs in a community meeting. Speech bubbles include: "We need delivery and training to manage produce" and "Yes! And also refrigeration and display." Background shows people at a co

Cartoon of three people having a meeting in an office. One person says, 'My family has owned our store for 3 generations,' and another adds, 'We want to be a community store and sell healthy things.' Text above reads, 'About 30 community members had

Comic panel showing a speaker at an Oakland City Council meeting discussing a $300,000 pilot program to provide fresh food to needy neighborhoods, highlighting a historic shift in the Arab community's relationship with the city.

Illustration of community stores resolution document

Cartoon showing two people celebrating in a store. One says, 'We did it! Let's get to work!' The other says, 'I'll call the stores. We can start with 3!' Text at the top: 'We were elated when they approved $200,000 for the pilot.' At the bottom: 'And

Illustration with "Saba's Origin Story" on a banner and "The Pilot" on a red oval, created by Kristen Lynn Zimmerman for Saba Grocers Initiative.

Two people in black and white with speech bubbles discussing a successful campaign organizing immigrant businesses for food justice, with a grocery store backdrop.

Comic showing a hand holding a smartphone with messages listing orders for tomatoes, chili peppers, apples, and bananas. Text above describes a distribution system through three stores starting in October 2020, operated from a relative’s store. Backg

Comic panel showing a person in a red shirt at a market stand with large vegetables, captioned 'October 2021' with text about expanding stores and working with BIPOC farmers.

Our Mission

Saba Grocers serves as a conduit for communities to get healthy food, provide information that promotes health and well-being, and for facilitating community empowerment.

Our Vision

We envision a healthy community where everyone has access to quality, nutritious, healthy food that can be achieved through a synergistic relationship between corner stores, producers, distributors, farmers, and the communities they serve.