Supermarket Tax Credit Act Introduced to Address Food Deserts
The Supermarket Tax Credit for Underserved Areas Act was introduced in the U.S. House. The bipartisan legislation would incentivize the opening of a grocery store in a food desert, and create a tax credit for selling fresh fruit and vegetables. It would increase the work opportunity tax credit for these grocery stores hiring local residents, veterans, disadvantaged youth, and other workers with barriers to employment.
USDA Provides $67M in Loans to Help Resolve Land Ownership and Succession Issues
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is providing $67 million in competitive loans through the new Heirs' Property Relending Program (HPRP), which aims to help agricultural producers and landowners resolve heirs' land ownership and succession issues. Intermediary lenders -- cooperatives, credit unions, and nonprofit organizations – can apply for loans up to $5 million at 1% interest once the Farm Service Agency (FSA) opens the two-month signup window.
New York Launches $35M Restaurant Return-to-Work Tax Credit Program
New York State's $35 million Restaurant Return-to-Work Tax Credit program is designed to help expand employment opportunities for workers and provide relief to COVID-impacted restaurants by offering a tax credit for the rapid hiring of restaurant workers to reduce the restaurant industry's pandemic-induced economic difficulties. Qualifying restaurants could receive a $5,000 tax credit per net new hire, totaling up to $50,000 in tax credits per business.
Federal COVID-19 Grants and Loans Still Available But Slow to Be Disbursed
Even as life slowly returns to normal, many small-business owners are struggling with keeping a venture they've had to reinvent afloat. They're hoping for relief through a recently expanded emergency COVID-19 program, the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. But because of processing backlogs, efforts to prevent fraud and a general lack of awareness about the program, funds have been slow to trickle down to businesses when they say they need it most.
How to Make a Neighborhood Farm for an Entire Metropolis
The Working Farms Fund is an ambitious new program that buys large tracts of farmland in danger of being developed and leases it to farmers, helping them save enough to buy it — with a guarantee that local institutions like universities and hospitals will purchase as much food as the farmers want to sell them. The program is part of a new, national agricultural push by the Conservation Fund, a nonprofit organization that balances environmental preservation and economic development.
Historic Debt Relief for Minority Farmers Faces Legal Juggernaut
A string of legal defeats for a groundbreaking $4 billion program to forgive the debts of minority farmers is presenting the Biden administration with a stark choice. It can continue the fight and risk further setbacks or give up and disappoint activists and lawmakers who have championed the cause. Legal groups have filed at least 13 lawsuits arguing the debt relief effort unconstitutionally discriminates on the basis of race.
Restaurant Revitalization Fund Grants $1.6B In Texas, But Many Miss Out
Of the 101,000 restaurants and food businesses nationwide that were approved for grants from the now-empty $28.6 billion fund, 6,406 were Texas businesses that received a total of $1.6 billion. That left thousands of the state's restaurants unfunded. Restaurant industry leaders are lobbying for a second round of the federal program, arguing that the survival of countless businesses depends on it.
Food Incubator CommonWealth Kitchen Buys Its Space in Dorchester, MA
CommonWealth Kitchen, a nonprofit that helps food startups get off the ground, is settling into its permanent home. The City of Boston provided an initial $500,000 investment, which led to later investments from state and federal organizations. The City of Boston funded $2.5 million through a HUD grant to help purchase the building, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts supplied $2.5 million in loans to supplement the total sticker price of $8.8 million.
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