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Faqs

Frequently Asked Questions
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What is Restaurants Care?

Restaurants Care is a program of the California Restaurant Foundation (CRF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. We proudly provide emergency assistance to restaurant workers during times of crisis. From helping with cost of living expenses due to injury, illness, or natural disaster, Restaurants Care unites the industry to provide one-time crisis grants to members of California’s restaurant community facing unanticipated hardship.
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How does Restaurants Care work?

Restaurant employees facing an unforeseen hardship may submit a simple application for support. General hardship requests will be processed and reviewed with funding being allocated based on available funds.
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Where does Restaurants Care get its funding?

Funding for Restaurants Care comes from a variety of sources including personal donations, corporate partnerships and events. Want to be a part of this awesome group of people? Donate here.

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What’s the standard grant amount?

Grants range from $350-$2,500.

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Who can apply?

Food and beverage workers in the state of California. Ex: restaurants, catering, entertainment venues, food trucks and tasting rooms. You must be involved in the service of food or beverage.
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How do I apply?

Visit www.restaurantscare.org/help to fill out an inquiry. A member of the Restaurants Care team will reach out to schedule a 15 to 20 minute in-take phone call to complete the application process. If your application for funding is approved, you will receive payment within a month (usually two weeks).

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What documents do I need to be able to apply?

You will need to submit three documents: most recent paystub, a utility bill, and proof of hardship (medical bill, death certificate, insurance claim, etc.)

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What hardships qualify for a grant?

  • Restaurants Care provides a safety-net for food and beverage workers experiencing one of the following crisis within the last 3 months: injury, illness, death in the immediate family, or a housing disaster such as fire or flood.
  • Circumstances we do not fund: unemployment, credit card debt, incidences that occurred more than 3 months ago, non-CA workers

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I received a grant in the past, but something else has come up. Can I apply again?

Yes! You are welcome to reapply so long as it is for a different hardship. For example: if you applied for a car accident in the past and have now lost an immediate family member you can reapply for assistance. We can only provide one grant per calendar year.
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Where does the money for this fund come from?

Every grant we provide is powered by donations! From our Restaurants Care Champions, to events, to our Giving Crew – everyone is pitching in to make this safety-net possible.

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Who reviews the grant applications?

Grants are reviewed by a committee to determine the approval and amounts of grant.

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If approved, when can I expect payment?

Payments are mailed directly to the address provided on the application form and can be expected between one to two weeks from approval date.
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How are grants paid?

Grants are paid in the form of a Visa gift card.
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My grant application was rejected. Is there someone I can speak with?

Please email us at info@restaurantscare.org.

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I’m a restaurant manager and someone on my team needs assistance. What do I do?

You can refer a member of your team to Restaurants Care by filling out an inquiry form at www.restaurantscare.org/help.