DAS approves grant modifications to add roughly 300,000 meals and grocery deliveries

The San Francisco Department of Disability and Aging Services commission on Feb. 7 approved a package of grant modifications that will increase funding for congregate and home-delivered meals across the city and add grocery deliveries and operational adjustments for partner agencies.

Presenters Tiffany Dang and Leah Walton asked the commission to approve eight modifications across six community partners, funded largely by new federal and state dollars and some one-time funds. The package includes significant additions for Bayview Senior Services (about $1.5 million to support roughly 166,000 meals across FY24 and FY25); Project Open Hand (about $230,000 for an additional 18,000 meals); Self-Help for the Elderly (about $1.2 million for roughly 82,000 home-delivered meals); and smaller modifications for Central Latino de San Francisco, Russian American Community Services, Golden Gate Senior Services' home-delivered grocery program and a Geneva Community Center congregate site.

The presenters said funds also include cost-of-doing-business adjustments and meal rate increases to help providers absorb rising food, fuel and staffing costs. Tiffany Dang said the modifications will fund an estimated more than 300,000 meals and grocery bags, with approximately 762 additional consumers served in FY24 and another 428 in FY25.

The commission moved, seconded and voted unanimously to approve the modifications; the motion included authorization to modify existing grant agreements for the period Feb. 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025, in the additional amount cited by staff, with a revised total not to exceed the figure presented at the meeting.

The funding is intended to preserve culturally responsive meal programs (for example, Russian and Latinx menus and Chinese cuisine at Geneva Community Center) and to maintain consistent volunteer-led delivery models in neighborhoods with high need.