PG&E Foundation Funding for Fourth
Consecutive Year Supports Hometown Restaurants, Commercial
Caterers
OAKLAND,
Calif., Aug. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ --
Locally-owned Northern and Central
California restaurants — and a few commercial caterers — are
receiving a financial boost from the California Restaurant
Foundation (CRF) and The PG&E Corporation Foundation
(PG&E Foundation) through grants to invest in equipment
upgrades, workforce training and more. The grants reflect a
commitment to strengthen restaurants for long-term business success
so they can continue contributing to local economies and
communities.
The PG&E Foundation's $900,000
charitable contribution this year is funding $5,000 grants to 154 hometown restaurants in
29 counties in Pacific Gas and Electric Company's (PG&E)
service area, as well as operating support for CRF, which
administers the grant program. The funding comes from PG&E
shareholders, not customers.
The PG&E Foundation's contribution to CRF's Restaurants
Care Resilience Fund current grant cycle will help grantees
pay for equipment and technology upgrades, unforeseen hardship,
employee retention bonuses and training to help restaurant owners
invest in their business and people. Grants were made available to
California resident restaurant
owners with fewer than five locations and less than $3 million in revenue, and prioritized minority-
and women-owned businesses.
For the first time this year, the grants were open to commercial
caterers based on appeals for support for catering companies
because they also are part of the local food scene.
Plant Slayer, which started out as a food truck in 2020 before
becoming a brick-and-mortar establishment in downtown Fresno two years ago, is one of the recent
grant recipients.
"Running a restaurant is really difficult in California… fees,
employees, the cost of goods going up — and you put the word vegan
in front of that and it costs more," co-owner Gina Perez said. "We were excited that we were
one of the restaurants chosen."
Perez said she is mostly looking forward to giving bonuses to
Plant Slayer's five employees who have been especially dedicated to
seeing the business succeed.
Since 2021, PG&E and the PG&E Foundation have
contributed $3.2 million in funding
to the CRF's Restaurants Care Resilience Fund providing grants
ranging from $3,000 to $5,000. (See our "From Kitchen to Community"
video featuring past grant recipients in PG&E's service
area.)
With this year's funding, PG&E has now helped provide grants
for a total of 675 restaurants and caterers in Northern and
Central California.
"We all have fond memories of celebrating special occasions with
the people we love at our hometown restaurants — with good meals at
the center, they truly are the gathering spots in our communities.
Through our partnership with the California Restaurant Foundation,
we want to make sure these neighborhood businesses, many of them
family-owned and operated, continue to thrive for years to come,"
said PG&E Corporation Executive Vice President of Corporate
Affairs and Chief Sustainability Officer Carla Peterman.
"Since the launch of the Restaurants Care Resilience Fund in
2021, PG&E and the PG&E Foundation have been steadfast and
generous supporters, helping hundreds of independent restaurant
owners throughout Northern and Central
California strengthen their businesses for the future," said
Alycia Harshfield, Executive
Director of the California Restaurant Foundation.
CRF began the Resilience Fund in 2021 to support restaurants
recovering from economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which
contributed to many restaurants closing their doors temporarily or
permanently. PG&E and The PG&E Corporation Foundation have
supported the program since its inception.
To date, CRF's Resilience fund has provided financial assistance
to more than 1,600 independent restaurants and caterers across
California.
Among this year's grant recipients, 80% are single location
establishments with an average 10 years in business, 79% of
recipients identify as female and 76% of owners identify as
minority. Some 70% of this year's recipients plan to use the
$5,000 grants for kitchen equipment
or technology upgrades, and 21% will dedicate the funds to employee
retention bonuses.
Assisting Restaurants and Small and Medium Businesses
PG&E remains committed to providing ways for its small and
medium business customers to save energy and money amid recent
economic hardships including the pandemic and recent inflation.
Here are some ways PG&E is helping its customers:
- On-Bill Financing: PG&E offers 0% interest loans for
replacing old and worn-out equipment with more energy-efficient
models. Watch this video to explore how energy savings are
reinvested back into your business to help improve your bottom
line.
- Rebates for food service equipment: PG&E offers several
rebate programs that will help you save money and improve
productivity when you upgrade your food service equipment.
- Budget Billing: If you are a small business owner, you can have
a predictable bill each month by enrolling in Budget Billing. The
program averages out your monthly bill to determine your monthly
payment, instead of having unpredictable summer bills.
- Energy Efficiency Programs: PG&E contracts with external
companies to provide a customized solution for different business
sectors.
- Find Your Best Rate Plan: Customers can use this online tool to
run a rate analysis to see if they are on the best rate plan for
their operations. The tool is projected to save customers over
$9.5 million this year.
- Economic Development Rate: This offers eligible business
customers the opportunity to lower costs through one of three
reduced electric rate options. PG&E developed this rate to help
businesses grow or maintain jobs in California. The standard 12% rate discount is
available throughout our service territory.
For more information on PG&E Small and Medium Business
customer support, visit pge.com/smbsupport. Customers can also find
more ways to reduce their energy costs at PG&E's Small Business
Podcast "Straight Talk with PG&E," on iHeart, Apple and
Spotify.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company,
a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG),
is a combined natural gas and electric utility serving more than
sixteen million people across 70,000 square miles in Northern
and Central
California. For more information,
visit pge.com and pge.com/news.
About The PG&E Corporation Foundation
The PG&E
Corporation Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit
organization, separate from PG&E and sponsored by PG&E
Corporation.
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SOURCE Pacific Gas and Electric Company