Alt-R&B superstar SZA and her NOT Charity have partnered with Jon & Vinny’s Italian to assist Los Angeles residents affected by the Trump administration’s freeze on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
From Nov. 11 through Nov. 18, the restaurant will offer 1,400 free meals at its Slauson location. Meals will be available daily from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Community members who receive SNAP can email [email protected] to sign up for a meal (up to 4 per family) and schedule a pick-up time.
SZA announced the news on Monday (Nov. 10) in a joint Instagram post with Jon & Vinny’s. “Yall know how much I love Jon and Vinny’s !! But it ain’t no fun if the Homies can’t have none,” the singer wrote.
Jon & Vinny’s added, “Last week @sza reached out to us with an idea and now, with her help, it’s a reality. Over the next 7 days we are partnering with her NOT Charity to provide 1,400 free meals (100 dinners for 2 per day) for Los Angeles community members who receive SNAP.”
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According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the SNAP program “provides food benefits to low-income families to supplement their grocery budget so they can afford the nutritious food essential to health and well-being.”
The freeze on SNAP benefits is one of many consequences of the federal government entering a shutdown on Sept. 30, after the Republican-led Congress failed to pass funding legislation for Fiscal Year 2026.
On Oct. 10, the USDA ordered all state SNAP agencies to halt the transmission of issuance files to EBT processors until further notice due to funding uncertainty amid the shutdown, according to an internal USDA memo obtained by Politico. This directive ultimately froze benefit processing nationwide.
After two federal judges ruled on Oct. 31 that the USDA could use contingency funds to issue full November benefits, the agency issued partial-payment guidance on Nov. 4 and later updated it on Nov. 5.
By Nov. 7, several states, including California, had begun issuing November SNAP payments, though many others were still waiting for funds.
Despite court orders, the “America First” Trump administration appealed to the Supreme Court on Nov. 7, seeking to block the mandate requiring full funding of the program, which over 40 million low-income Americans rely on. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson granted a temporary administrative stay through the weekend while the First Circuit reviewed the case.
On Monday (Nov. 10), the Senate voted 60-40 to advance procedural steps toward passing a temporary spending bill that would fund the government through Jan. 30, 2026.
Resources
For more information about Jon & Vinny’s Italian, visit jonandvinnys.com.
Email [email protected] to sign up for a meal.
For more information about the SNAP program, visit usda.gov.
