McDonald’s to Offer Discounts to Homeless

McDonald’s Corp. has volunteered to provide discounted Big Macs and other fast-food meals to homeless families enrolled in the city’s emergency shelter and voucher program, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley announced Thursday.

McDonald’s, which will be reimbursed by the city, will provide 4,000 meal coupons for distribution by nine social service agencies involved in the city’s program of offering hotel vouchers to homeless families whenever temperatures dip below 40 degrees, or under 50 degrees when rain is likely.

“We think this is an innovative approach,” Bradley said at a news conference at the downtown Chicana Service Action Center, one of the nine facilities for coupon distribution. “It is one of the ways in which other food service corporations in this community can serve their social consciousness,” Bradley said.

Gregory Hogan, a spokesman for McDonald’s, said the program was a first for the company in Southern California.