ST. MARTIN PARISH — For Louisiana businesses and nonprofits still feeling the effects of January’s winter storm, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced Monday that they are offering low-interest federal disaster loans. This move follows requests for assistance and is aimed at supporting small businesses, agricultural cooperatives, nurseries, and private nonprofits that suffered financial losses due to the storm.
Floyd Foti, owner of The Fruit Stand, a local market in St. Martin Parish, had to close his business for three days during the storm. He explains that the loss of business due to the storm and the subsequent closure had a significant impact. “It’s very hard because it’s an open-air market, and the roads were kind of more or less shut down, so you have all that loss of business,” Foti said.
The SBA's economic injury disaster loans (EIDLs) are available to small businesses, agricultural cooperatives, nurseries, and private nonprofits that experienced financial hardship as a result of the winter storm. The SBA issued a disaster declaration following a request from Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry on February 4, which includes St. Martin Parish and other affected areas in Acadiana.
“Almost everybody lost everything, so there’s gonna be a tight supply. It’s gonna be hard to get products, so you’re gonna have a loss of sales,” Foti added, highlighting the challenges local businesses are facing.
Although the EIDLs can provide loans to assist with recovery, Foti worries that they won't be enough to address the long-term impacts of the storm on his business. "The immediate three-day issue of not being open for three days because of the snow was important, but it’s the other issues coming up that we may face—that’s my worry. My worry is, because we rely heavily on agricultural products, is it going to hurt the products in the long run?”
While Foti is uncertain about applying for the loan, others in the community, such as Sylvia Poimboeuf, co-director of St. Bernard St. Francis Food Pantry, have decided against seeking this aid. The loan could be used for fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills that could have been covered if the storm had not occurred. However, the food pantry, which relies heavily on volunteers, did not sustain physical damage from the storm and does not have a payroll to cover. "We would have no need for that kind of loan. The way the storm impacted us was, we were not able to give out food that day. We were closed. We don’t have any payroll or anything of that nature. None of this would take place without our volunteers," Poimboeuf explained.
EIDLs are available in amounts up to $2 million, with eligibility and loan terms determined by the SBA based on each applicant's financial condition. While many businesses are still evaluating the loan options, Foti expressed gratitude for the assistance available. “Any kind of help that a small business can get, we really appreciate it. As you can see, several businesses are closing, so any help we can get is gonna help us give back to the community,” he said.
The deadline to apply for assistance is November 25.
Click the link for further information on the loan and details on how to apply:
https://www.katc.com/news/covering-louisiana/sba-offers-low-interest-loans-for-snow-related-losses
