Restaurant Owner FAQs

The CalFresh Restaurant Meals Program is a voluntary component of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).  It enables elderly (age 60 or over), disabled and homeless CalFresh recipients to purchase prepared meals at participating restaurants.  Its goal is to provide a variety of nutritious meal choices to eligible CalFresh recipients.

There are no fees/dues that a restaurant owner must pay for the Restaurant Meals Program. There is also no charge for use of the wired State issued EBT equipment (via the State’s EBT vendor Xerox.)

However, there is an expense if you choose to utilize the portable, wireless State issued Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) equipment.  (Also available via the State’s EBT vendor Xerox.)

Note: If you choose to integrate EBT into your current commercial Point-of-Sale equipment, you will need to contact your vendor and ask about additional fees.

Yes, you can apply for all your restaurants to participate in the Restaurant Meals Program.  Only one MOU is required for two or more restaurants under the same ownership.

The entire process to become authorized takes approximately 60 to 90 days.  Click here to review the authorization process.

The County will submit your completed application, approved MOU and all supporting documentation to FNS.  You will be notified when your application has been approved.

The restaurant owner must notify the County, and the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) when a restaurant changes ownership or closes.  This ensures that the authorization is cancelled immediately since the previous owner's authorization is NOT TRANSFERABLE.  If the new owner wants to continue to participate in the Restaurant Meals Program, he/she must sign an MOU with the County and apply for authorization with the FNS.

The state issued Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) equipment or your updated EBT integrated Point-of-Sale (POS) device has an Automated Eligibility Identifier that enables you to automatically identify if an EBT card can be processed for the CalFresh Restaurant Meals Program.  EBT cards work similar to debit and credit cards.

You may inform the customer to contact the ACCESS Customer Service Center at 1-866-262-9881 or visit their local Family Resource Center.

Yes, an EBT cardholder not eligible for the program, who does have an EBT cash account on their card, may use it at any site with EBT equipment, including Restaurant Meals Program sites.  However if the EBT cash account has a zero balance or has a balance lower than the transaction amount, the transaction will be denied.

Yes, you may process a mixed transaction when the EBT cardholder, eligible for both programs, informs the cashier that meal payment is EBT CalFresh and EBT cash combined.

HHSA will provide you with a RMP decal for placement on your business’ door or window.  CalFresh recipients will be told to look for the logo to identify restaurants participating in RMP.  Additionally, your restaurant’s name and address will be placed on a list of participating restaurants, which will be available to eligible participants by calling 2-1-1, or emailing pubassist.HHSA@sdcounty.ca.gov.  Community organizations, community partners and advocates may also have lists available.  The list of participating restaurants can also be accessed through the CalFresh Restaurant Meals Web Page.

EBT meals purchases are usually reimbursed within forty-eight hours.  If you have questions about EBT reimbursement, call the Retailer Helpline at (866) 328-4212.