(Camden, NJ) – New Jersey is receiving an additional $100 million in federal aid to help the state’s economy recover from the impact of COVD-19 – with the bulk of the money ($70 million) slated to go directly to small businesses in the Garden State such as restaurants and microbusinesses.
The $70 million will be distributed to these businesses through an upcoming Phase 3 the New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s Small Business Emergency Assistance Grant Program for businesses with 50 or fewer full-time equivalent employees, with $35 million of this specifically earmarked for “food services and drinking places.” More than 19,000 businesses statewide have utilized this program since its inception in April.
The remaining $30 million will be dispersed as follows:
- $15 million to support renters through the state Department of Community Affairs’ COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program.
- $10 million to help small businesses in New Jersey buy personal protective equipment to keep employees safe.
- $5 million to support local food banks and other hunger relief efforts across the state.
“This funding will serve as a much needed lifeline for small businesses that are the backbone of our economy. It will help residents struggling to keep up with the rent stay in their homes and apartments and it will help put food on families’ tables as they suffer through this recession brought on by the COVID-19 virus,” said Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli Jr.