County Provides $6 Million in Relief to Small Food Businesses
The Department of Environmental Health will issue $5.85 million in credits to approximately 5,400 food facilities to help small businesses that were severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, plus $140,000 for private home kitchens
SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CALIF. — The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to provide $6 million in relief to small food businesses, including $5.85 million for restaurants and other food service facilities that were hit hard by public health restrictions and market changes related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Department of Environmental Health, which oversees the County’s Food Safety Inspection Program, will credit about $5.85 million to the accounts of roughly 5,400 food facilities in Santa Clara County. The department will also provide $140,000 in fee relief to participants in the Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations program, a new initiative authorized by the Board on Tuesday.
The credit will be applied to the accounts of these permitted food facilities when they receive their next invoice from the County, offsetting their annual permit fee obligations for 2023.
“This is immediate and necessary relief to small businesses, and a sound investment decision by the County,” said District Four Supervisor and Board President Susan Ellenberg. “Restaurants and other food businesses are a pillar of our regional economy and provide essential services to our community.”
All food businesses must receive a permit from the County to operate and are subject to safety inspections. Permit costs vary. The most common type of food facility permit, for a fast casual restaurant with five or fewer employees, costs $789 per year.
The food industry has suffered greatly during the pandemic, first being required to operate at limited capacity and then having to adapt to changing consumer behavior. The Department of Environmental Health estimates that 1,500 food facilities in the county have closed permanently since the pandemic began.
“Small businesses have had a harder time absorbing the losses brought about by the pandemic than large corporations and publicly traded companies, and minority-owned small businesses were hit especially hard,” said District Three Supervisor Otto Lee. “I am proud to support our small food businesses, who provide valuable jobs and ensure that county residents have nutritious food to eat.”
To qualify for permit relief, food service facilities must have two or fewer locations in Santa Clara County operated by the same owner and 25 or fewer employees per facility (within a 24-hour period). Participants in the Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations program, which enables people to prepare and sell meals out of a private home kitchen, are also eligible.
Examples of businesses that qualify for relief include cafés, bars, breweries, wineries and food trucks.
The one-time grant of $6 million comes from $10 million that the Board set aside last year to benefit small businesses affected by COVID-19.
“Providing fee relief will help our independent food establishments that struggled during COVID-19 and continued to produce food safely despite constant changes in allowable practices,” said Dr. Marilyn Underwood, Director of the Department of Environmental Health.
ABOUT THE COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA
The County of Santa Clara government serves a diverse, multicultural population of 1.9 million residents in Santa Clara County, Calif., making it more populous than 14 states in the U.S. The County provides essential services to its residents, including public health protection, environmental stewardship, medical services through the County of Santa Clara Health System, child and adult protection services, homelessness prevention and solutions, roads, park services, libraries, emergency response to disasters, protection of minority communities and those under threat, access to a fair criminal justice system, and many other public benefits.
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Media Contacts:
Larry Little, County of Santa Clara Department of Environmental Health, 408-591-7721, [email protected]
Laurel Anderson/Eric Kurhi, Office of Communications and Public Affairs, (408) 299-5119, [email protected]
Posted: March 15, 2023