Applications open Friday for grants aimed at helping struggling restaurants in the Central Valley.

SoCalGas announced today via a press release a second donation of $525,000 to the California Restaurant Foundation’s Restaurants Care Resilience Fund.

The application period will be opening on Friday in the Fresno and Bakersfield areas, with local restaurants encouraged to apply for the $3,000 grants by April 30.

Last year, SoCalGas was a leading donor in COVID-19 relief, according to a press release, committing $525,000 to relief efforts aiming to support equipment upgrades, employee retention and deferred maintenance.

“Restaurants and the families and employees that run them showed incredible resilience and strength as they adapted their businesses to serve all of us during the pandemic,” said David Barrett, vice president and general counsel at SoCalGas.

Barrett, who also serves on the restaurant foundation’s board explained that last year’s grants provided assistance to local restaurants who were struggling to keep their doors open.

“This year, the grant funds will provide support for kitchens or crews, while overall supporting restaurant resiliency,” Barrett added.

Last year, over 300 restaurants received grants. This year, the Restaurants Care Resilience Fund plans to award nearly $1.5 million in grants to small businesses.

“We are extremely thankful to the California Restaurant Fund and SoCalGas for the grant, and for creating this fund to help local restaurants,” said Javier Solorzano, owner of Rajas con Crema in Southern California. “Our concern was to survive, and the grant helped us give back to our community in a time of need.”

The application period will be open from April 15-30, and will be available to all California-based restaurant owners with fewer than three establishments, and less than $3 million in revenue. 

SoCalGas plans to prioritize the donations to restaurants owned by women and people of color. Among last year’s recipients, 65% of businesses were women-owned, and 83% were owned by people of color.

SoCalGas contributed to other sectors last year as well, with $9.6 million in total community investment, $4.8 million in support of health and human services, and an additional $2.3 million going to education causes.