Is Your Food Business Eligible For Paycheck Protection Program

If you’re in a food-related business you might be aware of the Paycheck Protection Program that provides an opportunity for all small business owners in the USA with funds to cover up to payroll (including costs and benefits) of 2 months or 8 weeks to pay for rent, and utility expenses.  

Considering the financial impact covid-19 had on small businesses and how badly they 

were affected in the first and second waves of covid due to lockdown and economic crisis.

To find out if your food business is eligible your business must meet the following criteria:

• Businesses with less than 500 employees are considered eligible
• If your business is operating in more than one location then each location to have less than 500 employees to be able to qualify under the eligibility criteria
• Self-employed food business owners and franchisees registered with the SBA franchise directory are eligible
• Businesses paying salaries to their employees and taxes on those salaries fall under the eligibility criteria

Companies with financial instability due to volatile economic conditions are eligible to get support from the government to continue their business operations. To access the funds allocated for businesses they need to take into account existing business performance and other operating parameters to get funding up to $10 million dollars. The loan amount under PPP is calculated by multiplying 2.5 by the average monthly payroll.

With these emergency loans, small businesses can sustain and support their business operations and pay their employees. Along with it, PPP also offers loan forgiveness if certain criteria including existing debts on restaurants, financial performance and revenues are significantly lower.