Food & Beverage

Merchants Foodservice CEO urges support for emergency foodservice relief bill

July 14, 2020

Andy Mercier, president and CEO of Merchants Foodservice, based in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, has called for support of the bipartisan bill introduced to Congress last month to provide $120 billion for independent foodservice establishments hurt by the coronavirus pandemic.

In a guest editorial in the Clarion Ledger, Mercier said the pandemic has devastated foodservice distributors that serve foodservice establishments.

Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., introduced the bill, known as the Real Economic Support that Acknowledges Unique Restaurant Assistance Needed to Survive Act, in June, according to a report in The Hill. The bill would provide grants to restaurants that are not publicly traded, and normally have $1.5 million or less in revenue.

The money would be used to cover payroll, benefits, mortgage, rent, food, protective equipment and other costs, providing funds in addition to loans provided through the Paycheck Protection Program.

For an update on how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting convenience services, click here.