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Help for Houston restaurants: COVID-19 relief program aims to help restaurant owners and those in need of food

The relief fund is part of the $400 million in CARES Act funding provided to the City of Houston.

HOUSTON — City leaders have approved a $2.2 million relief program they say will support local restaurants impacted by the coronavirus pandemic as well as help feed Houstonians in need of a meal.

Editor's note: the video in this story is from Nov. 6 and reports on Houston restaurants struggling during the pandemic

Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Health Equity Response (H.E.R.) Task Force partners with more than a dozen Houston restaurants and catering companies to deliver up to 20,000 meals per week, according to the city. The program is funded to run through the end of 2020.

Must be in these ZIP codes

To qualify, both restaurants and meal recipients need to be in one of these ZIP codes that the city says were selected based on CDC social vulnerability data: 77003, 77004, 77009, 77011, 77012, 77016, 77020, 77021, 77022, 77026, 77028, 77029, 77033, 77036, 77040, 77045, 77051, 77053, 77060, 77071, 77072, 77074, 77076, 77078, 77081, 77087, 77088, 77091, 77093, 77099, and 77489.

“COVID-19 continues to impact Houstonians’ ability to meet basic needs and provide for their families,” stated Mayor Sylvester Turner in a press release. “This program will not only support local restaurants and their employees during the end of a very challenging year, but also will provide much-needed meals to Houstonians experiencing financial distress.”

Lemond Kitchen, who is taking the lead to help organize the other restaurants and caterers, will work with agencies and organizations to identify vulnerable Houstonians to receive the meals. Along with living in the above ZIP codes, recipients should be senior citizens, high-risk and/or homebound adults, people with disabilities, families with children under the age of 18, low income, or unemployed.

The relief fund is part of the $400 million in CARES Act funding provided to the City of Houston.

For more information, visit http://www.lemondkitchen.com/hers-program.

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