As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, communities across Appalachia are banding together to pool resources and ideas for resilience. Here’s an inspiring example:

The U.S Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farmers to Families Food Box Program involves directly purchasing fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and meat products for food banks, community organizations, and other non-profits serving communities in need. Through this program, farms and food enterprises in Appalachian Alabama, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina are addressing community food insecurity.

Congratulations to these enterprises for their work:

• Forestwood Farm Inc., Birmingham, AL.
• Regional Produce Distributors, Birmingham, AL.
• T&T Produce, Ringgold, GA.
• Marburger Farm Dairy, Evans City, PA.
• Paragon Wholesale Foods, Warrenda, PA.
• Taylor Boys Produce, Enoree, SC.

This week, Appalachian Community Capital (ACC) announced $3.56 million in grants under an Emergency Business Response Assistance Program to strengthen and stabilize 31 Regional Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and other mission-driven community development finance lenders, such as Revolving Loan Funds (RLFs), serving small businesses impacted by COVID-19 related losses.

With support from ARC, the program will help designated community-based lenders cover operational costs and offset some of the income they are losing by suspending, or reducing, payments from their borrowers during the COVID-19 crisis. Eligible uses of funding will consist of operational support and direct technical assistance to Appalachian small business and non-profit borrowers. It is anticipated that recipients will serve 400 businesses and organizations and improve at least 200 companies; $15 million in leveraged private investment will be attracted; and 200 jobs will be retained across the Appalachian Region.

“The Appalachian Regional Commission is committed to helping businesses and financial institutions throughout the region during this economic crisis. By strengthening our Community Development Financial Institutions, we’re ensuring they can continue to support our small businesses with access to capital, which is incredibly important during this difficult time,” said Mike DeWine, Ohio Governor and ARC States’ Co-Chair.

The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) released the 10th annual version of the The Appalachian Region: A Data Overview from the 2014–2018 American Community Survey, also known as “The Chartbook.”  The report draws on the American Community Survey and comparable Census Population Estimates available as of 2018 to present over 300,000 data points about Appalachia’s demographics, income, employment, as well as education, computer access, housing, transportation and other indicators—all presented at the regional, subregional, state, and county level with comparisons to the rest of the nation.

“The Chartbook relies on data collected from Census sources, illustrating the importance of full, accurate Census participation in our region. I encourage all Appalachians to complete the Census form, and do their part to inform ARC investments,” said ARC Federal Co-Chairman Tim Thomas. “This annual ARC report, defining and illuminating the most important economic and demographic data and trends in our Region, provides critical information to policymakers and stakeholders seeking to contribute to Appalachia’s growth.”

The Chartbook indicates that before the COVID-19 crisis, the Region was experiencing positive economic growth, although continued to lag behind the rest of the nation. For instance:

• Median household income in Appalachia rose 5 percent to $49,747 in 2014–2018 but remained at only 83 percent of the national average.
• Since 2009–2013, the share of Appalachian residents in poverty fell 1.2 percentage points to 15.8 percent in 2014–2018, yet remained 1.7 percentage points higher than the national average.
• The share of Appalachia’s working-age adults ages 25 and over in the Region with at least a bachelor’s degree rose 2.2 percentage points since 2009–2013 to 25.7 percent. Despite this increase, the share of available working-age adults in Appalachia with a bachelor’s degree or more was 7.2 percentage points below the national average in 2014–2018.

The Chartbook can be a useful tool in benchmarking economic developments as the COVID-19 crisis continues.

The U.S. Census is currently underway. Get counted here.

Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Secretary Dennis Davin announced that program guidelines and additional details for the COVID-19 Relief Statewide Small Business Grants are now available on DCED’s website.

Governor Wolf announced the program’s creation earlier this week. Under the program, $225 million is available for COVID-19 relief to small businesses through a distribution to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) for loan payment deferment and portfolio loan loss reserves, main street business revitalization grants, and historically disadvantaged business revitalization grants.

The funds will be available through three programs:

• $100 million for the Main Street Business Revitalization Program for small businesses that experienced loss as a result of the governor’s March 19, 2020 order relating to the closure of all non-life-sustaining businesses and have or will incur costs to adapt to new business operations related to COVID-19;
• $100 million for the Historically Disadvantaged Business Revitalization Program for small businesses that experienced loss as a result of the business closure order, have or will incur costs to adapt to new business operations related to COVID-19, and in which socially and economically disadvantaged individuals own at least a 51 percent interest and also control management and daily business operations.
• $25 million for the Loan Payment Deferment and Loss Reserve Program, which will allow the CDFIs the opportunity to offer forbearance and payment relief for existing portfolio businesses that are struggling due to the impact of COVID, as well as shore up the financial position of the CDFIs that are experiencing significant increased defaults in their existing loan portfolios.

Eligible businesses with 25 or fewer employees may receive a maximum grant of $50,000 so long as the business was in operation on February 15, 2020 and, if required, paid income taxes to the state and federal government, as reported on individual or business tax returns; COVID-19 has had an adverse economic impact and makes this grant request necessary to support the ongoing operations of the applicant; the grant will be used cover COVID-19 related costs; and during the period beginning on June 1, 2020 and ending on December 31, 2020, the applicant has not and will not receive another grant under this state program.

At the Deckman family farm in Cumberland County today, Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding announced an $11.9 million investment in food security by safeguarding 4,432 acres on 48 farms in 25 counties through the state’s nation-leading farmland preservation program. County governments invested an additional $2 million in the farms preserved today, bringing the total investment to $13.9 million.

The announcement was held in Mechanicsburg at the 55-acre Deckman Farm, one of the 48 farms preserved by Pennsylvania’s Agricultural Land Preservation Board.

According to a 2020 American Farmland Trust report, Farms Under Threat, Pennsylvania lost an alarming 244,000 acres to housing development from 2001 to 2016. This loss was countered by permanently preserving 347,000 acres of farmland during that same time period. Since the inception of Pennsylvania’s Farmland Preservation Program in 1988, the state has preserved more than 5,700 farms and 584,000 acres of Pennsylvania’s agricultural land for perpetuity with a more than $1.6 billion investment.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown many Pennsylvanians empty grocery store shelves for the first time in their life, leading to a heightened awareness of where food comes from and how it gets from farm to shelf. Access to farmland is vital to food security and meeting demands in both a regular and crisis climate.

In 2019, an agriculture research study funded by the department and conducted by Dr. Thomas Daniels, University of Pennsylvania, found the total economic impact of farmland preservation in Pennsylvania to be valued from $1.8 to $2.9 billion annually. The report also concluded environmental benefits of farmland preservation to be estimated at an additional $1.9 billion annually. Through his research, Dr. Daniels found that farmland contributes more in tax dollars than in demands in services.

The 48 farms preserved today are in Adams, Armstrong, Berks, Bucks, Chester, Columbia, Cumberland, Erie, Franklin, Greene, Lackawanna, Lawrence, Lehigh, Luzerne, Mifflin, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Schuylkill, Somerset, Susquehanna, Washington, Wayne, Westmoreland, and York counties. Since the program began in 1988, federal, state, county, and local governments have purchased permanent easements on 5,724 farms totaling 584,487 acres in 59 counties for agricultural production.

The farms preserved today include crop, fruit and vegetable, dairy, nursery, beef and livestock operations.

The full release and list of farms preserved can be found here.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released an updated compendium of COVID-19 resources and actions taken to assist rural communities. Find more information here.