California launches state-run restaurant delivery program for seniors

A new state-run program in California will bring meals to seniors and other vulnerable residents, an effort by public authorities to help maintain a functioning restaurant economy while keeping at-risk citizens sheltered from possible coronavirus transmission. 

California's coronavirus response page announced on Friday its "Restaurants Deliver: Home Meals for Seniors" program, which it touted as a "first-in-the-nation" enterprise. The initiative says it has partnered with all levels of government in the state, including Native American tribes, to help facilitate its goals. 

Its two purposes, the website states, are to "help older and other adults at high risk from COVID-19 to stay home and stay healthy by delivering three nutritious meals a day," and "provide essential economic stimulus to local businesses and workers struggling to stay afloat during the COVID crisis."

Details of the program, including how exactly it will function and if state employees will be the ones delivering the food, were not available on the website as of Saturday afternoon. But at a press conference on Friday, Newsom gave more information on the initiative's parameters. 

Senior citizens will be eligible for the program if they have incomes at 600 percent below the poverty level and are either in a high-risk COVID category or have been exposed to the disease. California will use both state and FEMA money to reimburse restaurants at a rate of $16 for breakfast, $17 for lunch and $28 for dinner. 

Newsom said the state intends to feature local produce and local farms in the program, as well as ensure that the meals going to senior citizens are low-sodium. 

The program "will allow for the ability for restaurants to start rehiring people or keep people currently employed," he said.