Local retail food establishments were especially hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. That's why on Jan. 11, 2022, in response to this hardship, the County of Sacramento Board of Supervisors approved the Retail Food Permit Fee Waiver program.
This program, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), provided relief to businesses throughout the County by waiving the food facility health permit fee in the calendar year 2022.
“I'm so proud of my staff who worked so hard to ensure that this program was successful," said Jennea Monasterio, Director of the Environmental Management Department. “This program provided much-needed relief to so many local restaurants, and the feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive."
As of Dec. 31, 2022:
6,828 retail food health permit waivers applied
$6,442,451 total in relief credit provided to retail food businesses
On July 13, 2022, in response to continued hardship, and with an allocation of federal funding from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLRF), the Board approved a second Retail Food Fee Waiver program. The extension of this program provides additional relief to businesses throughout the county by waiving the retail food permit fee in 2023.
To be eligible, retail food establishments must have:
- An annual permit in operation as of December 31, 2022, and
- Accounts in good standing through the December 2022 billing cycle.