Over the past week, Bay Future, Inc., along with Bay County Commissioners and the County Executive, have had the opportunity to hear, firsthand, about some of the challenges Bay County small businesses continue to face and to learn how the Bay County Small Business Grant Program has helped to alleviate some of that pain and anxiety.
Jarrid Weighman, the owner of Barney’s BakeHouse Bakery,
shared that the grant award helped him offset the rising cost of ingredients, explaining, that before COVID-19, he paid about $46 for a case of lard. Today, that case costs about $218. That’s nearly a 375% increase.
Some owners shared they simply couldn’t offer certain products on their menus or in their stores because their suppliers just did not have the items in stock. In many cases, their suppliers couldn’t tell them when they would be in stock again, forcing owners to get very creative in sourcing products, when possible, often times shopping at the local grocery store for more common items and ingredients.
Since the Bay County Small Business Grant Program opened in May, our team, along with the support of the Bay Future, Inc., Board of Directors, has been working expeditiously to support these businesses. To date, we’ve awarded nearly 115 small businesses nearly $850,000 in grant funding to offset the impact COVID-19 has wrought.
We’re thankful for the leadership of the Bay County Board of Commissioners in offering their support for this program. We’re thankful these business owners are steadfast in their commitment to their business and to Bay County. And we’re thankful to our community for continuing to support home-grown, local, small businesses!
