Homeless, elderly and disabled people with EBT cards will be able to buy hot meals at more Orange County restaurants

The Orange County Board of Supervisors wants to see more inclusion of restaurants serving fresh-food options and better outreach to clients when the county broadens a program that lets homeless, elderly and disabled people use their food stamp benefits to buy hot meals.

The five-member board on Tuesday, Nov. 20, approved a countywide expansion of the Restaurant Meals Program (RMP) that has been limited to establishments in Anaheim and Santa Ana under a pilot program launched in February.

But board members asked staff from the Social Services Agency to come back in 60 days with a plan for engaging more eligible clients with  Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, called CalFresh in California, and diversifying restaurant choices.

From February to August, the number of RMP transactions, at an average of $14.41 per transaction, went from 148 to 928, county figures show. But eligible households with CalFresh benefits stood at 32,041 in August.

Fourth District Supervisor Shawn Nelson pointed out that the program is not just about access to prepared meals but also fresh food.

“El Pollo Loco comes to mind,” Nelson said, as an example of a potential restaurant to include in the program.

A list of 39 participating restaurants is dominated by Subway sandwich shops but also includes Pizza Hut, Domino’s Pizza, and Jack in the Box locations.

Subway has had mixed success with its 20 Santa Ana and Anaheim franchises involved in the program. Half the shops have had great success, while the others next to nothing, said David Haywood, who oversees operation of 230 Subway locations in Orange County.

Only half the shops get good business from RMP customers, with others having no success at all after spending $400 to buy the processing terminal required and wading through a ton of paperwork, he said.

Still, Haywood welcomes an expansion.

“Awesome,” he said. “We’re in.”