2 Worcester restaurants among first in state to offer hot meals to EBT card holders
For many, dining at a restaurant is a luxury. However, for the elderly, people experiencing homelessness or those with disabilities, preparing a hot, nutritious meal can also be a significant challenge.
Enter the Restaurant Meals Program, a pilot offered through the state Department of Transitional Assistance to people eligible for electronic benefit transfer cards through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Two Worcester businesses are among 14 restaurants and food trucks across the state participating in the program that enables EBT card holders to purchase hot food, something that is traditionally not permitted. Those Worcester restaurants are New Wine Pizza and Sabrosa Venezuela, which also operates a food truck that is first in the nation to accept EBT.
Isabel Fernandez, the owner of Sabrosa Venezuela, says she can already see the program's impact on people.
“We have had an influx of clients and homeless people," Fernandez said, in an interview conducted in Spanish. "I believe that the majority are older people over 65, people with disabilities, but I would say that the most beneficial group of people that come to buy are homeless people.”
Massachusetts is one of the nine states to implement this kind of a program and the first to offer hot meals through food trucks.
In Worcester, it is estimated that one in every five residents struggles with food insecurity, according to the Worcester Task Force on Food Security, which formed in March 2020 during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
One of the task force's initiatives was a delivery program that provided hot and healthy meals to those who were particularly vulnerable.
Building on the impact of this initiative, the Worcester County Food Bank established the Center on Food Equity in March 2023. Three separate but similar coalitions — the Worcester Task Force on Food Security, the Worcester Food Policy Council and the Central Mass. SNAP Coalition — came together with a focus on addressing food access and developing policy solutions to combat food insecurity at the local and state levels.
“This isn’t just because of COVID," said Casey Burns, co-chair of the Center on Food Equity. "This isn’t a special circumstance. There might be a variety of life circumstances that people are affected in the same way that a hot prepared meal could really make a difference for somebody.”
“One of the food access issues that is often overlooked is just the ability to cook,” said Elizabeth Miller, senior manager at Spoonfuls, a Newton-based organization that delivers fresh food that would otherwise be discarded to organizations that serve those in need. “A lot of folks might have a kitchen, but they are working three jobs and they just don’t have time to cook and prepare a meal from scratch, so grab-and-go stuff is really important.”
The pandemic-era results inspired leaders to search for a way to continue the program.
“We were able to look to national SNAP-offering models and out of the USDA there was already an established model,” said Burns.
The Restaurant Meals Program pilot began in the fall of 2023, allowing select restaurants and food trucks to start accepting EBT cards in exchange for hot meals.
Not everybody who receives EBT benefits qualifies for the program.
“The goal of the Restaurant Meals Program is to better support DTA clients who have a disability, are experiencing homelessness or who are 60 years or older,” said a spokesperson for the state Department of Transitional Assistance. “These populations often encounter additional challenges and barriers when it comes to purchasing, preparing or storing food.”
The Department of Transitional Assistance selected from among 178 restaurants and food trucks that applied to participate in the program, prioritizing restaurants that can offer healthy, affordable meals, with ties to the local community and the capacity to serve high-need areas with historically high rates of food insecurity and chronic disease.
“We've seen the difference the program has made for our clients,” said Cruz Graterol, owner of New Wine Pizza. “We have seen a growth in our clientele and they tell us about the opportunity this program gives them to buy ready-made food at the restaurant.
“One of our most popular experiences is the reaction of many people when they see that we have this program here. Most of the responses are of gratitude towards the program. Every time someone is able to buy (a hot meal), the response they have given us is a thankful and pleasing response to be able to use it here at the restaurant.”
Fernandez echoed these sentiments.
“The homeless people, they are very happy when they come and they are able to buy with their EBT card. A lot of people comment that the food is very delicious and that they remember a moment in their life when they were more stable and that it has been a blessing that they can enjoy a healthy meal,” said Fernandez.
The Department of Transitional Assistance said 2024 sales totaled $375,242 across roughly 22,000 transactions, with a monthly average of around $23,453.