ATLANTA — The deadline is fast approaching for small businesses and nonprofits impacted by last year’s freeze to apply for federal assistance. Feb. 26 is the deadline to apply for working capital loans to cover losses sustained between March 11-23, 2023, the Small Business Administration (SBA) said in a press release.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a federal disaster declaration for wide swaths of the state after the freeze destroyed crops. An estimated 90% of Georgia’s peach crop was lost, according to the AJC.
The declaration covers the primary counties of Banks, Crawford, Fannin, Gilmer, Habersham, Hall, Jackson, Johnson, Macon, Madison, Meriwether, Monroe, Peach, Pike, Taylor, Towns, Union and Upson and the adjacent counties of Barrow, Bibb, Butts, Clarke, Coweta, Dawson, Dooly, Elbert, Emanuel, Forsyth, Franklin, Gordon, Gwinnett, Harris, Hart, Houston, Jasper, Jefferson, Jones, Lamar, Laurens, Lumpkin, Marion, Murray, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Pickens, Rabun, Schley, Spalding, Stephens, Sumter, Talbot, Treutlen, Troup, Washington, White and Wilkinson.
Other loan-eligible counties include Cherokee and Clay in North Carolina, Oconee in South Carolina, and Polk in Tennessee.
The SBA reminds small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses involved in aquaculture, and most private nonprofits in the affected areas to file for the loans.
For more information and to apply, visit the SBA website.
