Bay Area restaurants are stepping up to provide meals to families affected by the ongoing federal government shutdown and the looming loss of food stamps.
Tony & Alba’s Pizza & Pasta in San Jose is offering free meals to children and a 25% discount to parents until the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is funded. While the program, known as CalFresh in California, allows struggling families to buy food, the Trump administration has said no food aid will go out starting Saturday. Roughly 2 million of the state’s 5.5 million recipients are children, according to state data.
Tony & Alba’s customer Carlos Renteria, a single parent with six kids, said providing food to the community is a huge help. Customer Linda Gonzalez appreciates it as well.
“People are in need right now,” Gonzalez told San José Spotlight. “The owners are really nice people and they’re always giving. They even give to the homeless.”
Diana Vallorz, who owns Tony & Alba’s with her husband Al, said she knows what it feels like to depend on others for assistance. When she was young, her father was hospitalized for three months, leaving her mother, who spoke limited English, to raise four children on her own. She said providing children with a meal consisting of pizza or pasta, carrots, fruit and milk or juice will make them feel like somebody cares.
“There are many, many children that are having to go through this right now,” she told San José Spotlight, referring to the food benefit freeze. “Their parents are working, and they need that extra help, but now that extra help is gone.”
After the Italian restaurant posted on social media about the free meals, other restaurants throughout the Bay Area followed, including the Shrimp’n Ain’t Eazy food truck in East San Jose, Monster Pho in Oakland and Al Pastor Papi in San Francisco. Starting Nov. 1, Shrimp’n Ain’t Eazy is providing a free chicken garlic rice burrito and a drink for children. Al Pastor Papi is contributing a free burrito and Monster Pho beef, chicken or vegetarian pho.
Monster Pho owner Tee Tran said his family depended on government support and food banks when they emigrated from Vietnam. Now he donates meals to homeless people and older adults.
“I understand what it’s like to not have food on the table,” he told San José Spotlight. “So, when I saw (Tony & Alba’s) do it … I didn’t even think twice about it. Even though restaurants have a hard time right now, when we hear about kids not getting enough food to eat, we just want to help.”
Tony & Alba’s plan to take their offer of free and discounted meals a step further. Al Vallorz said in early November he plans to contact local schools to share a list of restaurants offering free food to children. He’s also compiling the list to share on his restaurant’s website.
He said community contributions help support the restaurant’s ongoing charity program “Random Acts of Pizza,” which includes giving gift certificates to churches to distribute and providing farmworkers with socks. The program has roots in the pandemic, when the restaurant delivered free pizza to older adults.
“Our business succeeds because of the community. So, it’s our responsibility to give back,” he told San José Spotlight.
Diana Vallorz said three to four families a day are coming to the restaurant for the free and discounted meals. She said a father on unemployment expressed his gratitude.
“They’re wondering, ‘What are we going to do? We have these kids that we have to feed,’” she said. “They were just appreciative knowing that we are thinking about them. It makes me feel good that like I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing. I feel like my father … would be happy about this.”
Contact Lorraine Gabbert at [email protected].
Dining and Cooking