Human Services

Becoming a participating restaurant will increase your customer base, which will likely increase your profits. It will also allow you to help vulnerable San Mateo county residents who need hot, prepared meals. There are over 7,000 individuals in San Mateo County who can potentially spend their CalFresh benefits at your business.

The CalFresh Restaurant Meals Program is a voluntary component of the CalFresh program. It enables elderly (age 60 or over), disabled and homeless CalFresh recipients to purchase prepared meals at participating restaurants. The goal of the program is to provide a variety of nutritious meal choices to eligible CalFresh recipients who may have difficulty preparing or storing food.

1. Complete an application for certification from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). Please see their website for more information. https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/apply-to-accept
2. Receive your approval and FNS number from the USDA.
3. Sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the County.
4. Become able to receive RMP payment by integrating Golden State Advantage Electronic Benefits (EBT) card transactions into your current commercial Point-of-Sale (POS) equipment or signing up for EBT processing with goEBT.

Yes, you can apply for multiple restaurants. Only one MOU is required for two or more restaurants under the same ownership if they are all in San Mateo County and are part of the same franchise.

There are no fees/dues for the restaurant owner. However, if you choose to sign up with the State’s EBT vendor you will be charged for the use of the Point-of-Sale (POS) device.  To learn more, contact goEBT about the RMP: 

Visit www.goebt.com 
Email: info@goebt.com 
Phone: (800) 277-5165 

Note: If you choose to integrate EBT into your current commercial Point-of-Sale equipment, you will need to contact your equipment vendor to get information about their associated fees. 

EBT cards work similarly to debit and credit cards. The state issued EBT equipment, or your updated EBT integrated Point-of-Sale (POS) device, has an automated eligibility identifier that ascertains if an EBT card can be processed for RMP.

You may inform the customer that their account is not allowing the EBT purchase and direct them to contact the California EBT Customer Service center at 1-877-328-9677, or their local Human Services Agency at 1-800-223-8383.

Participating restaurants will receive an RMP decal for placement on their business’ door or window. CalFresh recipients will be instructed to look for the logo to identify restaurants participating in the RMP. Additionally, your restaurant’s name and address will be placed on a list of participating restaurants that will be provided to all eligible participants. This list will be available at SMC’s Human Services Agency office, at local community organizations, or by calling 2-1-1.  Additionally, the list will be accessible by community partners and advocates on the SMC CalFresh RMP Web Page