Orange County will join eight other counties in a restaurant meal food assistance program that allows CalFresh food assistance participants to purchase prepared food from local restaurants.
The Orange County Board of Supervisors has authorized a program to allow those who are elderly, disabled and homeless who participate in the state’s food-assistance program to purchase prepared meals at participating restaurants.
Upon implementation, Orange County will join Alameda, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties in offering the Restaurant Meals Program, which allows participants to purchase prepared meals with their CalFresh benefits.
CalFresh is the State-administered, federally funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) formerly known as Food Stamps.
“The Restaurant Meals Program increases the availability of cooked meals for those who don’t have a place to store food or a place to cook it,” said Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Lisa Bartlett, Fifth District. “Our emphasis will be on encouraging healthy meals and a greater availability of prepared meals.”
An average of 264,000 Orange County residents per month received CalFresh benefits during the past fiscal year, of whom 54% were children. Of all CalFresh recipients, about 19,000 may be eligible for the Restaurant Meals Program, according to the Social Services Agency (SSA).
Supervisor Todd Spitzer, Third District, said to truly address homelessness, we must first and foremost deal with basic human needs like shelter, and basic nutrition. “No one can focus on mental health or job training when they are hungry,” said Supervisor Spitzer. “Offering nutrition options is a critical step in the right direction.”
To read more of the article released by the County of Orange, please click here.
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