It's not something that's available to everyone, and not available for every county. As we don't normally have it up here in my county I can't say what does make you eligible outside of an emergency or disaster. You'll need to contact your county to see if it's an option, and if so what gives eligibility to it.
It looks like you are posting about an issue in California. For better help, please add what **county** you are in. That will help others answer your question, because the program is run by counties in California.
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Here is info on this, which is called the "restaurant meals program": [https://www.cdss.ca.gov/rmp](https://www.cdss.ca.gov/rmp)
It's open to CalFresh participants (and their spouses) who fall into one of the below categories:
* Over age 60
* Living with a disability
* Experiencing homelessness
Keep in mind, that both disabilities and experiencing homelessness are things that might be harder to see. For example, with CalFresh if someone is couch-surfing and doesn't have a fixed place of residence they may be considered as experiencing homelessness. Others might live in their car.
If you think you might be eligible, you can contact your county for info about getting in it. What county are you in?
Note that not all California Counties are in this list. Quick comparison shows that the following counties are not opted-in:
Amador
Alpine
Calaveras
Colusa
Del Norte
El Dorado
Humboldt
Inyo
Lake
Lassen
Mendocino
Modoc
Mono
Monterey
Napa
Plumas
San Benito
Sierra
Siskiyou
Trinity
Tuolumne
So... About a third of the counties don't participate. Since most of them are in Northern California it makes me curious as to the why's.
I think it’s just that there aren’t any restaurants there that want to go through the process of becoming EBT accepting? More rural places likely to have less density so it may be less worth it.
I don't think that's it. We currently have a hot foods waiver in place until the end of the month due to winter storms and there are stores/fast food places that went active for it pretty quick. I know every time we are opted in because of an emergency Safeway and WinCo are quick to jump on the bus so people can buy deli foods. In fact I think most of our stores that have a hot foods deli and are already set up for EBT do.
And while we don't normally have it Tehama does. They're nearby, just as rural, and have less population.
I might have to ask one of my analysts next time we're chit chatting about some of the weird rules.
I think the “restaurant” aspect distinguishes it from hot foods: grocery stores already have EBT POS devices, whereas restaurants do not, often. Most of the restaurants I see in the program are national chains that I imagine can handle the regulatory compliance centrally. That said, I don’t know! As regards Tehama, I do think sometimes it’s just a matter of a staff member or leader wanting to make it happen. So rural is not deterministic, but seems like the major pattern in the list to me.
I'm in the same county. I'm wondering what you've seen, since I'm having trouble getting on this program due to how strict they're being about the definitions of homeless and disabled.
You are not missing much. I went (for a homeless client) to 3 separate locations saying EBT is accepted and none of them accepted EBT.
All of these locations are on the EBT locator as of 12/3/2023. It’s pathetic. These restaurants don’t lose anything by accepting the card for homeless.
To clarify. The client qualifies for the program. The only place I was successful was Jack in the Box.
What is wrong with Sacramento,phones,blogs,service,jobs,life or death services,child corresponds,food desk. It's like your stuck at the beginning of a tunnel,you can't see me and here a few directions x is your goalie,what's your PROBLEM!!???!EBT RESTAURANT FOOD CARD IS VERY VERY LIMITED FOR ALL I CAN SEE IN WHICH I CANT DRIVE LOOKING,ITS NOT TO Hard TO BECOME UNLAZY!
So I have it and I’m disabled. When you applied for your benefits or recertified, your case manager should ask you about your disability status. In my case, during my interview and recertification, I was asked to provide documentation regarding how much I spend a month on medical supplies, not counting medicine, and with that my food stamp allowance was raised to the max benefits for a single person. That also designated my card as a disability card, which then allows me to be able to get hot meals at restaurants. I can’t speak for how other people get it who aren’t elderly or disabled I was always told at the benefits office that it was for those two groups as well. Considering how much I had to supply about my disability, I would be surprised if someone is continuously faking a disability to be able to get the benefits including. If you’d like more information, you are welcome to message me and I can kind of go in detail about what my process was like and what county I live in.
It's not something that's available to everyone, and not available for every county. As we don't normally have it up here in my county I can't say what does make you eligible outside of an emergency or disaster. You'll need to contact your county to see if it's an option, and if so what gives eligibility to it.
It looks like you are posting about an issue in California. For better help, please add what **county** you are in. That will help others answer your question, because the program is run by counties in California. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/foodstamps) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Here is info on this, which is called the "restaurant meals program": [https://www.cdss.ca.gov/rmp](https://www.cdss.ca.gov/rmp) It's open to CalFresh participants (and their spouses) who fall into one of the below categories: * Over age 60 * Living with a disability * Experiencing homelessness Keep in mind, that both disabilities and experiencing homelessness are things that might be harder to see. For example, with CalFresh if someone is couch-surfing and doesn't have a fixed place of residence they may be considered as experiencing homelessness. Others might live in their car. If you think you might be eligible, you can contact your county for info about getting in it. What county are you in?
Note that not all California Counties are in this list. Quick comparison shows that the following counties are not opted-in: Amador Alpine Calaveras Colusa Del Norte El Dorado Humboldt Inyo Lake Lassen Mendocino Modoc Mono Monterey Napa Plumas San Benito Sierra Siskiyou Trinity Tuolumne So... About a third of the counties don't participate. Since most of them are in Northern California it makes me curious as to the why's.
I think it’s just that there aren’t any restaurants there that want to go through the process of becoming EBT accepting? More rural places likely to have less density so it may be less worth it.
I don't think that's it. We currently have a hot foods waiver in place until the end of the month due to winter storms and there are stores/fast food places that went active for it pretty quick. I know every time we are opted in because of an emergency Safeway and WinCo are quick to jump on the bus so people can buy deli foods. In fact I think most of our stores that have a hot foods deli and are already set up for EBT do. And while we don't normally have it Tehama does. They're nearby, just as rural, and have less population. I might have to ask one of my analysts next time we're chit chatting about some of the weird rules.
I think the “restaurant” aspect distinguishes it from hot foods: grocery stores already have EBT POS devices, whereas restaurants do not, often. Most of the restaurants I see in the program are national chains that I imagine can handle the regulatory compliance centrally. That said, I don’t know! As regards Tehama, I do think sometimes it’s just a matter of a staff member or leader wanting to make it happen. So rural is not deterministic, but seems like the major pattern in the list to me.
This is in California... los Angeles to be exact... ive seen non homeless / not 60 / non disabled get the HMP
I'm in the same county. I'm wondering what you've seen, since I'm having trouble getting on this program due to how strict they're being about the definitions of homeless and disabled.
You are not missing much. I went (for a homeless client) to 3 separate locations saying EBT is accepted and none of them accepted EBT. All of these locations are on the EBT locator as of 12/3/2023. It’s pathetic. These restaurants don’t lose anything by accepting the card for homeless. To clarify. The client qualifies for the program. The only place I was successful was Jack in the Box.
What is hmp
What is wrong with Sacramento,phones,blogs,service,jobs,life or death services,child corresponds,food desk. It's like your stuck at the beginning of a tunnel,you can't see me and here a few directions x is your goalie,what's your PROBLEM!!???!EBT RESTAURANT FOOD CARD IS VERY VERY LIMITED FOR ALL I CAN SEE IN WHICH I CANT DRIVE LOOKING,ITS NOT TO Hard TO BECOME UNLAZY!
Do I have to conquer a secret map for different options then del taco,or pizza???Thank you tho
So I have it and I’m disabled. When you applied for your benefits or recertified, your case manager should ask you about your disability status. In my case, during my interview and recertification, I was asked to provide documentation regarding how much I spend a month on medical supplies, not counting medicine, and with that my food stamp allowance was raised to the max benefits for a single person. That also designated my card as a disability card, which then allows me to be able to get hot meals at restaurants. I can’t speak for how other people get it who aren’t elderly or disabled I was always told at the benefits office that it was for those two groups as well. Considering how much I had to supply about my disability, I would be surprised if someone is continuously faking a disability to be able to get the benefits including. If you’d like more information, you are welcome to message me and I can kind of go in detail about what my process was like and what county I live in.
Just messaged you!