SZA is doing her part to address food insecurity in Los Angeles amid the government’s shutdown of SNAP benefits this month, which affects 600,000 Angelenos and 5.5 million Californians.
The five-time Grammy winner teamed up with the Los Angeles Italian restaurant Jon and Vinny’s to provide 1400 free meals for community members who receive SNAP. According to the announcement, which was posted on Instagram, the partnership between the restaurant and SZA’s NOT Charity initiative will give out takeout meals over seven days, from November 11 to November 18, through the Jon and Vinny’s location in the Slauson neighborhood.
“Yall know how much I love Jon and Vinny’s !! But it ain’t no fun if the Homies can’t have none !!” SZA wrote in the shared Instagram post with the restaurant.
SZA’s initiative, NOT Charity, which is helping power this action, is “dedicated to nourishing underserved communities through holistic solutions,” according to a statement the artist posted in May. That month, she wrote that the organization used proceeds from her cosmetic brand, NOT Beauty, to support community fridges in LA, an artist-run mutual aid program in New Jersey called A New World in Our Hearts, and “healthy food and direct support” in St. Louis, Missouri.
As the longest government shutdown in history may be nearing its end, California is in a legal battle with the US Department of Agriculture to block the federal directive to limit the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to 65% funding states would typically receive. The USDA is citing funding constraints due to the government shutdown, and California Attorney General Rob Bonta called the federal order “unlawful” and “confusing.” A federal judge sided with Bonta’s move to block the USDA’s decision on Monday.
