Great Plates Delivered Program Helping Prevent Hunger
Responding to the COVID-19 outbreak and statewide Stay at Home Orders, the County has launched a variety of programs — ranging from limits on evictions to the COVID Compliant Business Partnership — to help residents and businesses cope with these unprecedented challenges. Much of our focus has been assisting the County’s most vulnerable populations.
One standout program is Great Plates Delivered, a food delivery campaign for senior residents that is being implemented by the County Department of Aging and Adult Services (DAAS) in collaboration with the Office of Emergency Services, 2-1-1 San Bernardino County and the County Joint Information Center, along with the State and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA.
DAAS began by recruiting 37 local restaurants to participate in the program. These community-minded establishments prepare three nutritious meals a day for delivery to older residents who meet a variety of criteria (e.g., having pre-existing health conditions and income levels well below the federal poverty limit).
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In addition to assisting County residents, the program has benefitted restaurant owners and employees by generating a crucial new source of revenue.
“Because of the program, we were able to bring back 75% of our staff,” said Mark Furuuchi, owner of Gourmet Gourmet Catering.
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“Thus far we have served nearly 35,000 meals, and the response from recipients has been 100% gratitude.”
Chef Henry Gonzalez, who owns Spaggis Restaurant, agreed. “I train my staff to cook with passion — as if they were cooking for their own parents or grandparents,” he said. “With our food, seniors are feeling the love of their County and the state. At the same time, this program has helped our business, it’s helped our vendors, and it’s helped us keep all our people employed.”
Since its launch in early May, the program has already provided more than 485,000 meals to almost 2,700 residents living in 60 communities throughout the County — from the City of San Bernardino to Needles and Twentynine Palms. Great Plates Delivered was originally slated to conclude in June, has been extended until Sept. 9.
“We’ve been very pleased with this program and its impact on residents who are susceptible to the disease and face a variety of related challenges,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Curt Hagman. “We are thankful for the participating restaurants, which have helped ensure people obtain delicious, healthy food, as well as the volunteers who have given their time to deliver those meals.”
Residents can see and hear more in this inspiring and informational video about how Great Plates Delivered is succeeding in San Bernardino County.
Nonprofits and Other Community Organizations all Play a Part
Great Plates Delivered is not the only food assistance campaign helping County residents cope with recent difficulties.
Efforts also include Food Assistance programs such as Meal and Diaper Distribution program and the Grab and Go School Meals program. In the latter program, the County’s Preschool Services Dept. has been working with Sunrise Produce to distribute 150,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables to County residents during the first two phases of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Famers-to-Families program. We are anticipating approval on Phase 3, which will add meat, eggs and dairy to the menu of items we’ll be providing San Bernardino County residents.
More than 100 food banks and pantries have been providing meals to County residents who have lost their jobs or have otherwise been severely affected by economic challenges. Operated by nonprofits, school districts, churches and other faith-based organizations, these food banks have played a critical role in ensuring County residents avoid going hungry during these arduous times.
“We are very proud of the way the County has been fulfilling its mission to meet the needs of the community, and impressed by the heartfelt, collaborative spirit we’ve seen from community groups and private businesses alike,” Hagman said. “It is truly gratifying to see how members of the local community have joined together during a time of crisis to help our fellow citizens.”
 County Opens Up COVID Compliant Business Partnership Program to More Organizations
San Bernardino County recently made a number of program adjustments to its COVID Compliant Business Partnership Program to make the program available to even more business owners. The program supports our local small businesses by reimbursing and/or offsetting costs and impacts directly related to complying with COVID-19 related business protocols and providing support to all eligible County businesses who apply for the program.
The extended application deadline is now October 31, 2020. Some of the major revisions to the program include:
- All nonprofits with a storefront or physical space are now be eligible to participate.
- Short Term Rentals (STRs) are now be eligible to participate at a lower level of funding. The financial support is $500 for each STR owner to offset costs of safety improvements and increased sanitization requirements.
- Any additional STR under the same owner is eligible for an additional $250 each
- Sole proprietors with no employees are now eligible for the program funding if they have a retail space or storefront.
- Home-based businesses that service customers would now be eligible. This includes home day-care operators for example.
For more information and to apply for up to $2,500 for your COVID-Compliant business, visit https://sbcovid19.com/covid-compliant-business-partnership-program/.
 County Residents Urged to Get Tested at Convenient Sites
San Bernardino County has contracted with a new supplier for COVID-19 testing and is encouraging all County residents, regardless of whether you are experiencing symptoms, to get tested.
“Now that our testing capacity has expanded and stabilized, we hope that every resident, regardless of whether they have experienced any symptoms, will make an appointment to get tested,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Curt Hagman.“ Testing is free, painless, takes only a few minutes, and can be obtained without a doctor’s prescription.”
The County is now offering testing with an appointment at 10 locations, using an easy-to-administer nasal self-swab. Results can also be expected in no more than 5 days, but usually within 72 hours. There is no cost to take the test, however County residents will be asked to enter insurance information when setting an appointment in order to assist taxpayers in recouping some of the costs associated with testing.
Residents are encouraged to visit the County’s Testing Sites webpage to see all the County, state and private testing options, and to schedule an appointment.
There are testing sites in Fontana, Hesperia, Montclair, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Redlands, Rialto, San Bernardino and Victorville, along with the Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton. In addition, tests (and other services) are provided to underserved and vulnerable populations at County Health Centers in Adelanto, Hesperia, Ontario and San Bernardino. In addition, COVID-19 testing is being conducted at various state-run testing sites, as well as sites operated by private clinics, certain Rite-Aid Pharmacy locations, and HMO-operated facilities. (Note: State sites and private clinics may be using providers other than Fulgent, and testing methods vary at these other locations.)
Benefits of widespread testing
Public health experts believe that many of the people who carry the coronavirus do not know it, since they exhibit no symptoms of the disease (referred to as asymptomatic carriers). As a result, hundreds of thousands of infected people could be unintentionally spreading the virus to others.
Expanded testing and lowering our positivity rate will help San Bernardino County get off the state’s Monitoring List and allow more flexibility in our reopening efforts.
To learn more about the County’s testing program, visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.
Apply for California Competes Tax Credit: Next Webinar August 6
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) is now accepting applications for the California Competes Tax Credit (CCTC). There are $80 million in tax credits available during this application period for businesses that are expanding and adding full-time jobs in the state.
The deadline to submit applications is Monday, August 17, at 11:59 p.m. and the online application website will automatically close once this deadline has passed. The online application can be accessed at www.calcompetes.ca.gov. Businesses interested in learning more about the CCTC can participate in a free webinar that will review requirements an application process. The next webinar will be held: August 6, 2020 and business owners should visit this webpage for details and registration.
Free Webinars Hosted by the Workforce Development Board
San Bernardino County’s Workforce Development Board has partnered with regional business experts to provide employers in the County access to free and informative business webinars. A number of topics are scheduled for August. To see what is coming up and to register, go to https://wp.sbcounty.gov/workforce/events/.
Register now for these upcoming webinars:
Straight Talk from an E.R. Doctor: Face Masks Matter
There’s absolutely no “mask debate” if you ask the front line healthcare workers in San Bernardino County. Dr. Troy Pennington from Arrowhead Regional Medical Center is passionate about the need for all residents and businesses to take masks and other safety protocol seriously. In this short video, he gives his reasons why.
Latest Stats
34,237 Confirmed Cases (up 0.6% from the previous day)
487 Deaths (up 2.1% from the previous day)
259,732 Tested (up 0.6% from the previous day)
For more statistics from the COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard, click the desktop or mobile
tab on the County’s sbcovid19.com website.
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