Hawaii Restaurants Got $414 Million In Pandemic Aid. Where Did It Go?
WASHINGTON — More than 1,100 of Hawaii’s restaurants, bars and bakeries received $414 million through a federal grant program aimed at offsetting revenue losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to newly released data from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
On a per capita basis, that’s more money than any other state and second only to the District of Columbia.
Still, many of the Aloha State’s food and beverage businesses were on the outside looking in when it came to snatching up federal dollars.
The $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund was created in March when Congress passed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan to help curb the economic strains caused by an ongoing global epidemic that’s claimed more than 600,000 lives in the U.S.
Read more: https://www.civilbeat.org/2021/07/hawaii-restaurants-got-414m-in-pandemic-aid-where-did-it-go/
There is an interesting map at the link that shows how the states ranked as far as receiving federal aid for the restaurant industry. It appears that red states (particularly in the South) ranked poorly while the blue states had better rankings.