The American Rescue Plan Passes the Senate

Photo: Clay Williams

The latest COVID-19 stimulus package—the American Rescue Plan—has passed in the Senate and is expected to pass in the House tomorrow, Tuesday, March 9.

Thanks to the advocacy efforts of organizations like the Independent Restaurant Coalition, the National Restaurant Association, and the James Beard Foundation, and the hard work of culinary professionals across the country, the new plan includes a Restaurant Revitalization Fund. This fund will provide $28.6 billion in direct relief for small- and medium-sized restaurants.

The American Rescue Plan will also include:

• $5 billion in debt relief and assistance to farmers of color
• An extension of the 15 percent increase in SNAP benefits through September 2021
• Grants and loans for PPE for essential food workers

It’s anticipated that the bill will be signed into law this week. We’ll continue to keep you updated as guidance around the Restaurant Revitalization Fund becomes available.

Our gratitude goes out to those who have advocated for months and months for restaurant relief, as well as to those of you who added your names to the sign-on letter we circulated last week to provide debt relief to BIPOC farmers. These successes are powerful and wouldn’t be possible without each and every one of you.

Read the full bill text here.
Find more information on the nutrition and agriculture provisions in the bill here.