Hospitality Association Praises Governor DeSantis’ opening of vaccines to all Florida adults beginning April 5

  TALLAHASSEE – Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced that Florida residents age 40 and older will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine beginning Monday, March 29, and all Florida residents age 18 and older will be eligible for the vaccine beginning April 5.

“From day one of the COVID-19 pandemic over a year ago, we have worked with Governor DeSantis and other state and federal leaders to help Florida’s hospitality industry through this difficult time,” said Carol Dover, President and CEO of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association (FRLA). “From business losses and plummeting consumer confidence to re-opening and recovery, FRLA has advocated every single day for policies and practices that would help our restaurants, hotels, and suppliers survive this crisis and begin to rebuild. Opening the vaccines to residents age 18 and older in the coming days is a huge victory for our hospitality industry, not just for our guests, but for our 1.5 million employees. On behalf of FRLA and Florida’s hospitality industry, we thank Governor DeSantis for his leadership throughout this emergency, for his support for our industry, and for opening up the vaccine eligibility to help us build consumer confidence and move forward.”

In Governor DeSantis’ press announcement, he encouraged all Floridians to pre-register at myvaccine.fl.gov. It stated that, once pre-registered, individuals will be contacted when the vaccine is available in their area. Floridians can also call the vaccine preregistration phone number for their county, listed here. To watch the Governor’s full video announcement, click here.

Tonight, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that it will be increasing the maximum amount small businesses and non-profit organizations can borrow through its COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.

Starting the week of April 6, the SBA will be raising the loan limit for the COVID-19 EIDL program from 6-months of working capital up to $150,000 to 24-months of working capital up to $500,000. According to the SBA, businesses that receive a loan subject to the current limits do not need to submit a request for an increase at this time.

SBA will reach out directly via email and provide more details about how businesses can request an increase closer to the April 6 implementation date. Any new loan applications and any loans in process when the new loan limits are implemented will automatically be considered for loans covering 24 months of economic injury up to a maximum of $500,000.

We will share more details as they become available.

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SBA Extends Deferment Period for all COVID-19 EIDL and Other Disaster Loans until 2022

The U.S. Small Business Administration announced extended deferment periods for all disaster loans, including the COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, until 2022.

• All SBA disaster loans made in calendar year 2020, including COVID-19 EIDL, will have a first payment due date extended from 12-months to 24-months from the date of the note.
• All SBA disaster loans made in calendar year 2021, including COVID-19 EIDL, will have a first payment due date extended from 12-months to 18-months from the date of the note.

Existing SBA disaster loans approved prior to 2020 in regular servicing status as of March 1, 2020, received an automatic deferment of principal and interest payments through December 31, 2020. This initial deferment period was subsequently extended through March 31, 2021. An additional 12-month deferment of principal and interest payments will be automatically granted to these borrowers. Borrowers will resume their regular payment schedule with the payment immediately preceding March 31, 2022, unless the borrower voluntarily continues to make payments while on deferment. It is important to note that the interest will continue to accrue on the outstanding balance of the loan throughout the duration of the deferment.

COVID-19 EIDL loans are offered at very affordable terms, with a 3.75% interest rate for small businesses and 2.75% interest rate for nonprofit organizations, a 30-year maturity. Interest continues to accrue during the deferment period and borrowers may make full or partial payments if they choose.

In mid-February 2021, SBA reached a milestone in the success of the COVID-19 EIDL program, by approving over $200 billion in emergency funding in low-interest loans, providing working capital funds to small businesses, non-profits and agricultural businesses to survive the severe impacts of this catastrophic and historic period within the entire United States of America and its territories. SBA continues to approve over $500 million each week for the COVID-19 EIDL program.

TALLAHASSEE – Today, the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association (FRLA) released a video in English and Spanish encouraging Floridians to show their community support to support Florida restaurants. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 600,000 Florida restaurant employees were furloughed or laid off. Businesses closed, and some never returned. In Florida, it is estimated that more than 10,000 restaurants have closed.

“No industry has been hit harder by COVID-19 than the hospitality industry,” said Carol Dover, President and CEO of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association (FRLA). “Florida is open for business, and our restaurants and hotels are eager to safely welcome guests and create those memorable experiences. Restaurants are the centers of our communities, and we hope you will dine in or take out to support your local restaurants, enabling them to stay open and keep their team members employed.”

In the summer of 2020, FRLA launched its Seal of Commitment (SOC) program to recognize an establishment’s tangible commitment to the highest standards of safety and sanitation. The SOC is a demonstration to guests and associates that the operator prioritizes their health and safety. Hospitality establishments across Florida have earned the Seal. For more information, click here.

About the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association

The Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association (FRLA) is Florida’s premier non-profit hospitality industry trade association. Founded in 1946 as the Florida Restaurant Association, FRLA merged with the Florida Hotel and Motel Association in 2006. FRLA’s more than 10,000 members include independent hoteliers and restaurateurs, household name franchises, theme parks and suppliers. The association’s mission is to protect, educate and promote Florida’s $111.7 billion hospitality industry which represents 1.5 million employees.

Dedicated to safeguarding the needs of its membership, FRLA provides legislative advocacy to ensure the voices of its members are heard and their interests are protected. The association offers regulatory compliance and food safety training through SafeStaff® and FRLA’s subsidiary, RCS Training. The FRLA Educational Foundation provides industry-developed, career-building high school programs throughout the state.

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On Friday, the United States and European Union agreed to suspend all tariffs related to the dispute over Boeing and Airbus subsidies. The four-month suspension will result in the removal of tariffs on agricultural, industrial, and consumer products worth $11.5 billion including wine, whiskey, cheese, olives, nuts, and other food items from the EU.

Removing these tariffs is a big win for the restaurant industry and will help restaurants begin to recover amid the pandemic and resulting shutdowns. Suspension of the tariffs also marks a first step towards improving our trade partnerships with the EU and will allow the time and space to create a more permanent negotiated solution.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) this week released updated FAQs for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) as well an updated Interim Final Rule (IFR). The IFR clarifies certain maximum loan calculation scenarios for individuals who file IRS Form 1040 Schedule Cs and eligibility requirements for business owners with felony convictions and delinquent federal student debt. The FAQs are updated to address a number of scenarios related to the PPP Second Draw program and other specific eligibility scenarios.

Documents are linked in the text above.

Additional COVID-19 Funds to Local Area Agencies on Aging Will Provide More Meals and Meal Services

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., — The Florida Department of Elder Affairs (DOEA) distributed more than 16 million home-delivered meals last year following the onset of COVID-19. That number represents an increased distribution of over 200 percent for nearly five months, compared to the number of meals served during periods of non-emergency. As DOEA and the Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) increased the number of home-delivered meals, the Aging Network simultaneously partnered with the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association in launching the Feeding Older Floridians Restaurant Meal Initiative that contributed over 3.5 million meals to Florida seniors during the same time period.

Now, DOEA is reinforcing the successful home-delivered meal programs. An additional $12.7 million in federal funding has been distributed to the 11 AAAs throughout the state to address the needs of older Floridians who remain affected by COVID-19.

“The state of Florida remains focused on the Seniors First initiative and that includes ensuring older adults have safe access to food through home-delivered meals,” said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. “We’ve already been a model for the nation in making sure older individuals are prioritized for receiving vaccinations. The innovative meal programs launched by DOEA further our efforts to keep seniors first. The State of Florida and DOEA have afforded providers unprecedented program flexibility in service delivery, and the advancement of these programs helps us continue to meet those critical needs.”

“Florida’s Aging Network has shown extraordinary resourcefulness in response to COVID-19,” said DOEA Secretary Richard Prudom. “The launch of the Feeding Older Floridians Restaurant Meal Initiative and the tremendous expansion of home-delivered meals by the AAAs allowed seniors to continue to receive nutritious meals and provided a reduction in social isolation. We’re grateful to be continuing these hallmark programs established as new solutions to new demands. The Aging Network’s development of these new business models is a commitment to effective and efficient programs that support Florida’s senior population.”

“The Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association (FRLA) and restaurants across our great state have been proud to participate in this important meal initiative to meet the needs of Florida seniors,” said Carol Dover, President and CEO of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association. “Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, our restaurants have stepped up to help fill the critical need for senior meals, and the extension of this program will continue to allow seniors to have increased access to hot, nutritious meals from the safety of their home while simultaneously helping to support Florida’s restaurants.”

The additional funding will allow extension of various meal delivery projects including the Feeding Older Floridians Restaurant Meal Initiative, drive-through meals, and grab-and-go meals for older adults who remain homebound.  The continuation of these programs allows DOEA and the Aging Network to provide real-time responses to meet the needs of Florida’s elders.

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About the Florida Department of Elder Affairs

The Florida Department of Elder Affairs, the State Unit on Aging, helps Florida’s elders to remain healthy, safe, and independent. The Department provides most direct services through its Division of Statewide Community-Based Services, the state’s eleven Area Agencies on Aging, and local service providers to deliver essential services to a vital segment of the population. For more information, please visit www.elderaffairs.org.

Florida’s food supply chain industries asked to share how they fared in 2020

Highlights
• Responses are sought from anyone who contributes to the food supply chain. Specifically, this is a call for responses from Florida businesses, but other responses are welcomed and will be assessed as part of a nationwide glimpse of COVID-19 effects.
• “Lessons from COVID-19: Positioning Regional Food Supply Chains for Future Pandemics, Natural Disasters and Human-made Crises” is a multi-region, multi-institution project funded by the USDA.
• Survey is open now at tinyurl.com/afri-covid-survey-FL.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — As the United States nears the one-year anniversary of the first lockdown related to the COVID-19 pandemic, many in the nation’s food supply chain are still feeling its effects.

A new multi-region, multi-institution research team aims to assess the impact of the pandemic on food and agricultural systems and to develop strategies for coping with future crises. The project, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (USDA-AFRI), will involve University of Florida researchers working with scientists from University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of California-Irvine, and Kansas State University.

The project, titled “Lessons from COVID-19: Positioning Regional Food Supply Chains for Future Pandemics, Natural Disasters and Human-made Crises,” includes multiple components. One of the earliest efforts will capture impacts to food supply chain businesses via surveys. The survey created for Florida industries is now open.

“We’re seeking food supply chain respondents, from producers to retail distributors, and everything in between,” said Christa Court, UF/IFAS assistant professor of food and resource economics and lead investigator of the food supply chain survey component of the project.

The UF/IFAS Economic Impact Analysis program, which Court directs, last year conducted similar, short-term surveys of Florida businesses as impacts evolved along with the pandemic. Information from these efforts can be found on the program’s Disaster Impact Analysis webpage and will continue to be updated.

This survey, rather, asks for respondents to reflect on the entirety of 2020 and, along with the partnering institutions’ surveys, will allow for comparisons to other regions of the United States. Specifically, the partner institutions aim to capture impacts in the Midwest and Southern California. The three regions together represent not only diverse commodities but also diverse socioeconomic groups, with the goal to obtain a broader look at the national impacts of the pandemic.

“Here in Florida, we produce an estimated 200-300 different agriculture and food commodities and have a significant number of businesses involved in aggregating, processing and distributing food products to the final consumer. Even if we get 1,000 responses, we might have a small sample from some of these groups or miss others entirely,” Court said. “It’s important to not only get responses, but to get a wide variety of them. Positive, negative or no change, and even in the event of a complete closure, we want to hear what happened to your business in 2020.”

Court added that individual operations will remain unidentifiable and be consolidated into broader categories, should the response rate necessitate.

Individuals from outside Florida are not barred from participation, she said, but such responses might only be reflected among the national overview, depending on response rates for different regions.

The survey for Florida industries can be accessed at tinyurl.com/afri-covid-survey-FL. The current plan is for it to remain open until the end of February, Court said, but will depend on the response rate.

Separately, related to the UF/IFAS Economic Impact Analysis program’s earlier efforts, interview subjects are still being sought for an ongoing qualitative study involving collaboration between UF/IFAS, Florida Gulf Coast University, and Florida A&M University. Florida industry professionals in agriculture or food-related sectors who are interested in sharing additional information about their COVID-19 experiences in this format should contact David Outerbridge, UF/IFAS Extension Lee County director, at douterbridge@ufl.edu or (239) 533-7512.

The mission of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is to develop knowledge relevant to agricultural, human and natural resources and to make that knowledge available to sustain and enhance the quality of human life. With more than a dozen research facilities, 67 county Extension offices, and award-winning students and faculty in the UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, UF/IFAS brings science-based solutions to the state’s agricultural and natural resources industries, and all Florida residents.