Oakland, CA (February 24, 2021) – Off the Grid (OTG), the Bay Area’s premier food truck and catering experience company, has partnered with Oakland to double the City’s Great Plates Delivered program, bringing free, high-quality, locally sourced meals to seniors affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Effective immediately, 100 percent more participants are being accepted into the extension of Oakland’s Great Plates Delivered program, which was implemented last Spring as a result of the global pandemic, and has delivered more than 300,000 meals to Oakland seniors since last May. Overall, the City has served more than 2 million meals since the start of the pandemic through a variety of community partnerships.
Qualified participants include older adults in the Oakland community who need access to free healthy, nutritious meals and meet the following criteria:
- Aged 65 or older, as well as older adults who are aged 60-64 and in high-risk categories (i.e., people who have received a positive COVID-19 diagnosis, have been exposed to COVID-19, or who have underlying health conditions).
- Unable to obtain or make their own meals.
- Living alone or with one other adult who also meets these criteria.
- Earning less than $74,940 for a single-person household or $101,460 for two-person households.
- Not currently receiving food assistance from other state or federal nutrition assistance programs.
Participating Oakland residents will receive three deliveries with four to six meals each, for a total of 14 meals per week. Off the Grid is tapping its existing network of restaurants and food truck operators, along with other local restaurants and food purveyors to bring the program to life. Participants will be able to specify dietary restrictions, as well as culinary preference across a variety of cuisines.
Interested participants can sign up today at https://offthegrid.com/oakgreatplates or call (510) 288-7887. Participants will begin receiving their meal deliveries from the Oakland Great Plates Delivered program on February 26th, 2021.
“During this pandemic Oakland’s compassion, grit, and resilience has shined,” Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said. “We have looked after each other, reached out to our most vulnerable, and brought our community closer together. I’m grateful for the Biden-Harris administration’s investment in our community, and I deeply appreciate the partnership of Off the Grid to ensure our Great Plates Delivered program continues to reach our most vulnerable seniors and households.”
The Oakland Great Plates Delivered program is executed in partnership with the state of California, the City of Oakland, and Off the Grid, and backed by FEMA. The expansion of the program has been made possible by the emergency relief funds pushed through by the Biden-Harris Administration. The goal of the Oakland Great Plates Delivered program is two-fold: assist seniors and other adults in Oakland to stay home, stay healthy and stay nourished, and provide essential economic opportunities to local businesses reeling from the pandemic.
Over the past year, Off the Grid has pivoted its business model to provide relief for Bay Area community members and small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, wildfires, mud slides, and other natural disasters and cultural crises. In 2020, Off the Grid created new revenue streams for its Creators, helping drive more than $10 million solely through its relief efforts. Additionally, in June 2020, Off the Grid made a commitment to drive $500,000 in revenue to Black-owned businesses, which was more than doubled by the end of the year. For 2021, Off the Grid is committing to drive $4 million in revenue to Black-owned businesses through programs like Oakland Great Plates Delivered.
Those who are interested in participating are encouraged to visit https://offthegrid.com/oakgreatplates or call (510) 288-7887.
For more information on Oakland’s Great Plates Delivered program, visit www.oaklandca.gov or https://offthegrid.com/oakgreatplates.
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About Off the Grid: Off the Grid (OTG) is a mobile food platform that connects people over a shared love of food and community. Throughout the past decade, OTG has encouraged and inspired the mobile food movement throughout the San Francisco Bay Area with curated food experiences, innovative events, and corporate dining. Utilizing its agile mobile events platform, OTG has supported more than 600 entrepreneurial food vendors and small businesses (known as Creators) with multiple opportunities to connect with the community. Amidst the current climate, including the COVID-19 pandemic, along with both the climate change and cultural crises, OTG continues to serve its community by pivoting its business practices to provide relief to the greater Bay Area community as issues arise. Efforts include, but are not limited to, feeding frontline workers, serving first responders during wildfire season, supporting BIPOC businesses, providing food to those affected by COVID-19, and continuing to provide excellent food service with contactless delivery in partnership with the city of San Francisco, among other partnerships. For more information please visit https://offthegrid.com/ and follow OTG on Twitter: @OTGSF, Instagram: @OffTheGridSF, and Facebook: @OffTheGridSF.