A Healthy Lunch That Makes Conversation the Main Course
The program title is a mouthful: Choosing Healthy Appetizing Meal Health Plan Solution for Seniors. But CHAMPSS has become a tasty acronym for thousands of seniors who enjoy social nourishment as much as food.
CHAMPSS is an innovative program that doesn’t just feed seniors. It lets them get out of home isolation to experience the special treat of a restaurant meal — and conversation with friends.
“The program also benefits the restaurants because it brings more business. It’s a win-win,” says Sheila Li, the program coordinator.
Two Sunset restaurants participate: SoHoMei on Noriega Street and S & E Café on 19th Avenue. A third restaurant is Venus on Clement Street in the Richmond district and a fourth called Crazy Pepper on San Jose Avenue was recently added in the Excelsior district.
Seniors and persons with disabilities can dine at any participating restaurant for just $5 for a preset meal.
“I heard about CHAMPSS from a friend and like the opportunity to socialize,” said Sunset resident Lucilla Ho, during a recent meal at SoHoMei. She often visits all three restaurants with friends she meets at different senior centers.
Healthy meals
A dietitian reviews menus at participating restaurants to ensure they are nutritious. Each meal includes an entrée, milk, and seasonal fruit. Menus typically feature Chinese-American dishes although some also include traditional American fare.
CHAMPSS was launched 10 years ago by Self Help for the Elderly, which encourages the health, well-being, and independence of seniors and people with disabilities through multicultural and multilingual social, recreational, and educational services.
How to enroll
About 8,000 San Francisco seniors participate in the dining program. To enroll, a senior, defined as age 60 or older, must fill out an application on the CHAMPSS website or in person at one of Self Help for the Elderly's community centers. In the Sunset, seniors can apply at 2601 40th Avenue. There is no income limitation.
Adults with disabilities of any age are eligible if they reside in special/senior housing with its own meal site or live with an older adult who participates in CHAMPSS.
Seniors pay for their own meals, and the suggested contribution is $5 per meal. The restaurant’s regular price menu is about $13 per meal and the difference is subsidized by Self Help for the Elderly and the city’s Department of Disability and Aging Services.
Family and friends are welcome to accompany CHAMPSS diners, although they must pay the regular menu price.
Reported and written by volunteer community journalist Jan Cook. We encourage residents with journalism experience, retired journalists, and student journalists in high school and college to volunteer as writers for Supervisor Engardio’s newsletter. Interested? Apply here. Do you know a story you would like to see featured in the newsletter? Tell us about it here.