Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary and subject to appropriation, the executive office of housing and economic development, in conjunction with the department of transitional assistance and the department of elder services, shall establish a pilot program for the duration of the state of emergency issued on March 10, 2020, to provide prepared meals to qualifying individuals who are aged 60 and above, through a partnership with private restaurants in the Commonwealth.

The pilot program shall foster economic recovery of restaurants and ensure individuals who are at increased risk of suffering complications from COVID-19 as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and are eligible for Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, remain food secure during the state of emergency.

The pilot program shall determine eligibility of participants via the department of transitional assistance utilizing Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program data. The pilot program, in conjunction with the councils on aging, shall provide outreach to eligible individuals to enroll participants. During outreach, participants shall be screened to determine if they are at increased risk of suffering complications from COVID-19 as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  

To qualify as a participant, restaurants shall require economic assistance during the state of emergency. The pilot program shall determine eligibility of restaurant participants via the executive office of housing and economic development, in conjunction with the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation COVID-19 Small Business Program, by providing outreach to restaurant applicants to the COVID-19 Small Business Program. If the pilot program is unable to identify restaurant participants from the applicants to the COVID-19 Small Business Program, the executive office of housing and economic development shall establish a list of qualifications, generate an application for restaurants to apply for participation in the pilot program, and establish a website to promote application to said pilot program.

The pilot program shall promote geographic diversity of restaurant participants by selecting restaurant participants from across the Commonwealth. The pilot program shall reimburse restaurants for costs associated with preparation and packaging of meals.  

The executive office of housing and economic development, in conjunction with the department transitional assistance and the department of elder affairs, shall report not later than 6 months after the effective date of this act and annually thereafter to the house and senate committees on ways and means, the joint committee on economic development and emerging technologies, the joint committee on elder affairs, and the joint committee on public health, the results of the pilot program and any identified barriers and challenges to establishing said program, pilot program expenditures, and data relating to the number of individual participants, restaurant participants, and meals served, the types of meals provided, and geographic location of pilot program participants.