Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan has helped to protect millions of jobs, provide emergency support to families and keep businesses afloat as they deal with the impact of COVID-19. A central part of this is the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF), which helps support those who may not be eligible for other programs.
Since May 2020, Community Futures Development Corporations (CFDCs) have been delivering targeted RRRF support to businesses in their communities. With their local expertise and connections, southern Ontario CFDCs have been trusted partners of the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) to deliver this funding to support local businesses that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic to stay afloat and maintain jobs.
In this time, Community futures Huron has provided $1.6M in liquidity support to help 82 businesses impacted by the pandemic to cover costs and maintain 256 jobs. The funding is making a difference in Huron County by providing businesses the support they need to navigate the uncertainty of the pandemic while finding ways to grow for the future.
For example, Bon Vivant Catering, a Huron County catering business owned by Devin Tabor, was struggling as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. With RRRF support through Community Futures Huron, Devin received liquidity support to help his business adapt and cover costs. Bon Vivant Catering is now able to weather the storm and keep operations going.
Bon Vivant has been in the catering business since 2008 and thanks to assistance from the RRRF, they will be able to move forward toward 2022 ready to handle new challenges and growth opportunities.
The RRRF has helped Bon Vivant weather the storm of the Covid-19 pandemic and allowed us to thus far be able to keep our financial obligations met, keep operations going. The RRRF has offered some relief from the financial stress and hardships that the Covid-19 restrictions and lock downs have caused within the catering and event industry. The RRRF was a stress free application process, with great support from Community Futures Huron, and the application proceeded very quickly. I am not sure if we would have been able to weather the second and third wave of Covid-19 in Huron County without the financial support provided by the RRRF program. We are grateful for the help and look forward to being able to resume “normal” operations as allowed by the Huron Perth Health Unit.
Chef Devin Tabor of Bon Vivant PCS & Catering
Bon Vivant specializes in personalized cuisine tailored to suit our varied clients’ needs and desires. Experienced in large as well as small events, Devin is ready to work with any client to provide the best in catering services whether the event has an intimate or extensive guest list. Email or call Devin for a free quote: chef@tcc.on.ca or 519-233-7233. Visit http://www.bonvivantchef.ca/ for complete information.
