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Wolf Administration: 223 Businesses in York County Receiving Assistance by July 15

Gov. Wolf secured $145 million in pandemic relief for the hospitality industry

Harrisburg, PA – Deputy Secretary for Technology and Innovation of the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Steve D’Ettorre today joined Kevin Schreiber, President and CEO of the York County Economic Alliance (YCEA) and Julie Wheeler, York County President Commissioner to announce the amount of funding that will be provided to York County restaurants through the COVID-19 Hospitality Industry Recovery Program (CHIRP) by July 15.

“As a York County native, I know firsthand that York is a special place—situated perfectly between urban, rural, and suburban life, with a diverse mix of cuisine and culture available at our disposal,” said Deputy Secretary D’Ettorre. “While we as patrons want to do all that we can to support our local restaurants, the hit the industry took continues to require major assistance to aid in getting hospitality back on steady ground. That’s why the funding secured by the Wolf Administration to help these businesses through the CHIRP program is so crucial, and so critically needed.”

Last year, Governor Tom Wolf secured $145 million in funding support businesses adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the commonwealth has worked with counties and economic development partners to quickly send assistance to the hospitality industry.

“This critical resource came right when businesses in the hospitality industry needed support,” said Kevin Schreiber. “We’re glad there was an equitable distribution of funding, where 34% of awardees are owned by persons of color, 31% are women-owned, and 7% are veteran owned.”

Counties are administering the funding through one or more designated Community Economic Development Organizations (CEDO) or Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI), which began processing applications from businesses in each county on March 15. Funding must be provided to businesses by July 15, 2021.

York County received $6.4 million in grant requests for CHIRP, with 223 eligible applicants. Awardees spread across 44 of the 72 local governments in York County, with an average grant amount of $28,968.61.

Restaurant owner Audra Crenshaw, of Soul Food in the Park, shared “having access to funding programs like CHIRP have been instrumental in us being able to keep our doors open.” Soul Food in the Park is a black women-owned restaurant who specializes in comfort food. The business opened in 2020 and is located in the City of York.

For more information about the Department of Community and Economic Development, visit the DCED website, and be sure to stay up-to-date with all of our agency news on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

MEDIA CONTACT: Casey Smith, DCED, casesmith@pa.gov

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