FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
WHAT IS SF NEW DEAL?
SF New Deal is a nonprofit dedicated to helping keep small businesses open and their employees) working during the Covid-19 crisis. Our first project pays restaurants to make food for the most vulnerable members of our community. We are not trying to make food as cheaply as possible and are not optimizing for the volume of food being served. Rather, we are trying to provide a bridge for as many small businesses as possible to make it through this period long enough to access funding and support from the government (which has way more money, power and reach). We are working to raise money so that we can continue to expand our programming to the many communities and businesses in need of help here in San Francisco.
How does SF New Deal work?
Prompted by COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, SF New Deal purchases daily meals from restaurants, at volume and in advance. Then we work in partnership with existing community based organizations to deliver nourishing meals to San Francisco residents facing an unprecedented level of food insecurity.
The predictable revenue restaurants receive from SF New Deal supplements the income that they are receiving from their existing takeout and delivery programs. This combination of revenue helps restaurants keep their staff employed until additional resources become available from the government.
The food from these restaurants allows our partners to amplify the impact of their existing work. They can feed our most vulnerable community members, including the elderly, people with pre-existing conditions, low-income families, the unhoused, and justice-involved individuals.
How do you select sites to partner with?
We partner with grassroots organizations who are already providing services to communities in need to identify individuals and families who need our help. In close coordination with our long-serving community partners and San Francisco’s Human Services Agency and the Department of Disability and Aging Services, we distribute food to SROs, residential shelters, churches, and homes.
Who is paying for the meals?
SF New Deal operates three community-feeding programs. Our original program called CBO (Community Based Organization) is funded through private donations large and small and grants from foundations and corporate partners, to provide meals at no cost to program participants. The CBO program has received additional substantial financial and organizational resources from the City of San Francisco’s Human Rights Commission. SF New Deal is also a service provider for two City of San Francisco feeding programs. One delivers meals to city run congregate housing sites with funding from the Human Services Agency. The other program delivers meals to homebound seniors through the state run Great Plates Delivered program that is funded through a combination of federal, state and local dollars and administered by the San Francisco Department of Disability and Aging Services.
RESTAURANT PARTNERS
How do you select your restaurant partners?
We are working with small, local restaurants with brick-and-mortar locations within the bounds of San Francisco who employ W-2 workers. 62% of restaurants that have participated in our programs identify as women, BIPOC or LGBTQIA+ owned.
We are serving meals to a wide range of participants and seek to provide meals that are culturally competent (Asian food for communities based in Chinatown, for example) and nourishing. We are not currently onboarding caterers or companies that produce beverages or desserts.
How does restaurant participation and payment work?
Meal requirements and compensation vary across the three programs that SF New Deal is currently running. Single meals are funded on average for $10 each and reimbursed with added sales tax where required.
For participating restaurants there is no expectation that what is being served through our programs is on their standard menu; we ask that chefs thoughtfully use their discretion in designing menus that will be possible at the price point we’re working with. With some of the programs we run, there are dietary requirements and nutritional guidelines that our team will share when applicable.
Restaurant partners can expect payment every two weeks via electronic ACH.
How much can restaurants expect to earn?
We strive to provide substantial support to each restaurant we work with. Most restaurant partners receive approximately $3,000 in weekly orders for a minimum of 8 weeks.
Do you buy directly from farms? Or subsidize ingredient costs?
While we're committed to supporting local farms, our primary objective is to quickly deploy resources to small businesses and deliver meals to food insecure residents. We strongly encourage all of our participating restaurants to support and strengthen their existing relationships with local purveyors during this time.
When will I be matched with a site?
As a function of the ongoing support we seek to provide for restaurant partners, we unfortunately have limited capabilities when it comes to onboarding new restaurants with the current funding we have available. Due to overwhelming interest, we can't promise that everyone who applies will be enrolled, but we are working to bring as many businesses on board as possible.
Once I am assigned, how long will I be able to participate?
At this point, we anticipate each restaurant being able to participate for a minimum of 8 weeks. We strive to provide stability, and thus are making an effort to keep participant assignments the same from week to week if possible. Sometimes, due to logistical concerns or changing needs from community partners, it is not possible to keep the same assignment from one week to the next. We ask our partners to be resilient and flexible as we are trying our best to make this program work for all of our participants.
How many meals will I be providing?
Most restaurants provide 100-150 meals per day, 2-3 days per week.
Can I select which site I’ll be working at?
While we strive to pair all sites with nearby restaurants, we can’t accommodate specific requests for sites.
Do I need to prepare meals in a specific way?
Yes. Each SF New Deal program has clear and specific guidelines with regards to meal expectations. During program onboarding participating restaurants receive detailed information regarding meal requirements.
Additionally, the FDA and the SF Department of Public Health have released new food and safety guidelines for the service industry in response to COVID-19. Food facilities, like other work establishments, need to follow protocols set by local and state health departments.
Do I need to use specific packaging?
Most meals will be individually packaged, which helps ensure meals can be distributed individually while reducing the risk of cross-contamination. While SF New Deal does not have a preferred packaging vendor, we do ask that meals be packaged in durable packaging to ensure meals will be delivered in a safe and appropriate manner.
PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS
How do you select which organizations to partner with?
Within our CBO (Community Based Organization) Program we partner with long-serving community organizations who already have deep experience serving their own populations. Once a need is identified, we work to pair each partner site with a restaurant that can meet that site’s requests. We are also actively working in partnership with a number of CBOs and community advocates to serve the needs of the Latinx, AAPI, and LGBTQIA+ communities in San Francisco.
How many meals will partner organizations receive?
We ask that CBO (Community Based Organization) partners let us know how many meals they need on a daily basis with the knowledge that we will strive to provide them. As we don’t have an unlimited budget, we may not be able to meet your entire need.
How often will partners receive meals?
We rely on our community partners to identify and communicate their needs, and to ensure that meals are being safely and efficiently distributed. Depending on your organization’s bandwidth, you may want meals weekly, daily, or somewhere in between. Let us know and we will work to meet your needs.
Who is paying for the meals?
SF New Deal raises money from compassionate individuals, foundations and corporate sponsors to fund the meals we are providing free of charge to our community partners. We are also working with San Francisco’s Department of Disability and Aging Services as a provider for the Great Plates Delivered Program and San Francisco’s Human Services Agency as a provider for the Congregate Feeding Program.
How are meals prepared and packaged?
Every restaurant partner is expected to prepare meals to the highest of safety and sanitary standards according to the FDA’s new food and safety guidelines for the service industry. We also work with our restaurant partners to ensure that they abide by the guidance of local and state health departments, which may vary depending on the amount of community spread of COVID-19 in a particular area. SF Department of Public Health Food Guidelines can be found here.
DONATIONS
Can I earmark my donations to a specific site or restaurant?
Yes, we can restrict use of funds to specific sites or restaurants. Please reach out to us at hi@sfnewdeal.org to discuss arranging funding for a specific set of sites or restaurants.
Is this donation tax deductible?
Yes! SF New Deal is a registered 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Our EIN number is: 85-0498939. All donations made in connection with this project are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. To claim a donation as a deduction on your U.S. taxes, please keep your donation receipt as your official record. We’ll send it to you upon successful completion of your donation.
Will I get a receipt?
Yes. A donation receipt will be delivered electronically to the email address you provide on the donation page form if you are giving through our website. If you are wire-transferring a gift to us directly we will send you a receipt electronically to the email used for correspondence. If you gave a donation to our fiscal sponsor, CUESA, the receipt will come from CUESA. Please be sure to keep a copy of your receipt for tax purposes.
Is my donation secure?
Yes. Keeping your information secure and confidential is a priority for us. We use industry-standard SSL (secure socket layer) technology to protect your information and provide a safe and secure environment for online donations. We will not sell, trade or share your personal information with anyone else, nor send donor mailings on behalf of other organizations, and we share personal information only if you have given us specific permission to do so.
What are the fees associated with my donation?
For each credit card transaction, our payment processor - Stripe - charges the following fees: 2.2% + $0.30 transaction fee for Visa, Mastercard, and Discover and 3.5% for Amex. Many thanks to Stripe for waiving all fees on our first $50k of donations via our website.