The PepsiCo Foundation and the National Urban League have announced a first round of grant recipients from their joint Black Restaurant Accelerator Program.

Launched in October 2020, the five-year, $10 million initiative aims to provide five hundred Black restaurant owners in twelve cities with capital, technical assistance, and mentorship services, including back office and accounting systems support, inventory management, and marketing assistance. Inaugural recipients include Victoria's Kitchen & Catering Soul Food Restaurant in Philadelphia; Takoma Station Tavern and Wingery in Washington, D.C.; Beaucoup Eats, Taste and See, and Addis NOLA in New Orleans, Odom's Kitchen Catering in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Local Green Atlanta and Slutty Vegan in Atlanta; Taste-T-Love Baby Food, Rich Taste Catering Service, and De'Lish LLC in Dayton, Ohio; Southern Grace Cincy Catering in Cincinnati; and Chef's of the Streets in Laurel, Maryland.

According to the foundation, Black business owners have been particularly vulnerable since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, as 41 percent of Black-owned businesses have shuttered since February 2020 compared to 17 percent of white-owned businesses.

"As the pandemic exposed existing disparities many minority business owners face, we saw a fundamental threat that could erase the decades of progress Black-owned restaurants have made. This investment will help Black restaurateurs not only recover from the pandemic but set them on a path to long-term economic resilience," said C.D. Glin, vice president, global head of philanthropy at the PepsiCo Foundation. "We are inspired by the progress we are making through our collaboration with the National Urban League to address a fundamental gap and create opportunities for Black-business owners to build generational wealth and continue to strengthen their communities."

(Photo credit: PRNewsfoto/PepsiCo)