Several Oakland restaurants are giving SNAP recipients meals while benefits are stalled

An Oakland restaurant’s viral Instagram post last week had a ripple effect in the Bay Area: “Monster Pho will now offer children a free meal until the SNAP is funded,” it said.

Several other restaurants then followed Monster Pho in offering free meals to the thousands of people who don’t have money to buy food this month because their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have stalled during the federal government shutdown.

On Friday, two federal judges ordered the Trump administration to keep paying SNAP benefits, after the government announced that the funds would dry up on Saturday. Still, the November payments remain delayed, and it is uncertain when the money will appear in recipients’ accounts this month, according to the California Department of Social Services. This impacts nearly 180,000 people in Alameda County.

“As long as there are delays in SNAP funds, we will continue with our free meals program,” Darren Joel Preston, owner of Malibu’s Burgers in Oakland, said Saturday. “Some people have already started coming over to get food.” 

Tee Tran, owner of Monster Pho, said he was inspired to offer free meals to children because he knows firsthand how vital food assistance can be. His family depended on food stamps when they arrived in California from Vietnam in 1989. 

Tran decided to give away meals even though his business is struggling.

“The problem is, we’re just a small restaurant, and financially, we’ve actually lost 30% of our business in the last six months due to tariffs, due to immigration laws, due to crime,” Tran said.

Despite those challenges, he wanted to keep supporting his community. To stretch his limited resources and expand his ability to offer food, Tran launched a donation program alongside his free meal initiative, inviting community members to bring non-perishable food to his restaurant so those in need, including undocumented residents, can pick them up there.

Participating restaurants

Restaurants like chef Eric Rivera’s  Puerto Rican Street Cuisine are also joining in. “Let’s not wait for the lifeline, let’s create the lifeline, let’s become the lifeline and that’s what this is about,” Rivera said in an Instagram post Thursday. “I am not waiting for the help, I am becoming the help and if  each one of us can become the help, we will be alright.”

Like Tran, Rivera runs a restaurant in Oakland. Like Tran, Rivera’s resources are limited but he chooses to give.

“It’s not like we have unlimited resources and this is of course coming out of our pockets. But the point is we are trying to do something,” Rivera said.

At least five Oaklnd restaurants will be serving free food until SNAP benefits resume, but each restaurant has its own rules. 

Monster Pho is giving children under 12 free soup and offering parents a 25 % discount.

Puerto Rican Street Cuisine is providing a free kid’s meal to children 12 and under.

Wahpepah’s Kitchen is serving bison tacos to children 16 and younger and adults 65 and older.

And Malibu’s Burgers is giving  a free burger or tenders with fries to SNAP recipients and their children.

To be eligible to receive free food from these restaurants, people should show their SNAP card and ID. Families that want to receive food for their children must bring their children with them.

The worker‑owned Understory operates a pay‑what‑you‑can menu that anyone can use, no SNAP documentation required.

Some restaurants like Wahpepah’s Kitchen are accepting monetary donations, while others like Monster Pho encourage people to make food donations or come in and dine.

“The very best way you can help us support others is simple: just come in and dine with us,” Tran said. “This allows us to keep our staff employed, pay our rent, and support our vendors. For that opportunity, we are forever grateful.”

All that food banks and restaurants can do is help meet the need, said Jenabi Pareja, Understory co-founder. But that won’t solve the problem.

“We need policies and funding that ensures access to food is a right,” Pareja said, “not a privilege or charity.”

(Top photo: Jesus Zetina prepares food at Malibu’s Burgers, by Paula Cristobal Madina)

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Organizations pump up Alameda County food fund to help SNAP recipients during shutdown