Mountain View Safeway calls police on African-American woman giving food to homeless

The Sunnyvale resident went to the Safeway with her son, two sisters, three nieces, and nephew after attending service at Christ Temple Community Church in Palo Alto. Martin said she and her son arrived first and gave dog food to a homeless man who she usually sees outside the store with his dog.

Her sisters arrived a little later with hygiene care items packaged by church members for two other homeless men who hang out in the shopping center. Her sisters later went into the store to buy food at a Starbucks for the homeless men, but it was closed.

Martin said because she and her sisters go to the store three or four times a week, the children — the oldest is 13 years old — knew the store bakery gives away free cookies. Her son and some of the cousins went inside to see if there were any free cookies. They were told there weren’t any.

As her son was getting inside her car, a Safeway manager came outside and “that’s when he looked at me crazy,” Martin said.



A few minutes later, when she was getting ready to leave, a police car pulled up behind her car.