Restaurant Meals Program

What is the Restaurant Meals Program and who does it serve?

The following people are eligible to use CalFresh/EBT at businesses participating in the Restaurant Meals Program for hot and/or prepared meals.

People that get CalFresh and are:

  • Older adults, aged 60 or older and their in-home spouses;

  • People with disabilities and their in-home spouses;

  • People experiencing homelessness

In Humboldt County, the following businesses participate: Burger King and McDonald’s. We will update as we learn if/when additional restaurants join in.

The ability to use CalFresh/EBT at these restaurants is automatic if you are in the CalFresh system as being in one of the above categories.

In accordance with federal civil rights law and USDA civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its agencies, offices, employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the state or local agency that administers the program or contact USDA through the Telecommunications Relay Service at 711 (voice and TTY). Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.

To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at How to File a Program Discrimination Complaint and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: 

  1. Mail: USDA Food and Nutrition Service, 1320 Braddock Place, Room 334 Alexandria, VA 22314; or

  2. Email: FNSCIVILRIGHTSCOMPLAINTS@usda.gov.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Why do some people qualify to use their CalFresh/EBT for the Restaurant Meals Program and some do not?

  • Eligibility to use CalFresh in the Restaurant Meals Program depends on how your CalFresh case is classified.

  • If your CalFresh case was documented as being a person age 60+, or with a disability, or experiencing homeless, you are automatically eligible for the Restaurant Meals Program.

  • Eligibility for the Restaurant Meals Program can be allowed or ended at any point in the case based on changes to these three circumstances.

  • CalFresh approval notices will say when the Restaurant Meals Program is approved for a household.

  • You might see a restaurant with a “We Accept EBT” sign in the window and wonder why your card didn’t work. The above reasons of who qualifies, and how a case is classified, determine who can actually use CalFresh/EBT at the restaurant for the Restaurant Meals Program.

What if I do not qualify for the Restaurant Meals Program?

  • You can still buy some cold prepared foods that are checked out as grocery items at places like Papa Murphy’s—just like always.