Shop Local Amid Pandemic, Burlington County Officials Advise

BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJ — Burlington County officials are encouraging residents to shop local as much as possible during the upcoming holiday season. Officials are asking residents to help keep the local economy thriving after they were hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

“Supporting small businesses is important even during the best of times, but with the pandemic’s impacts, it’s more important now than ever,” Burlington County Director Felicia Hopson said. “We want everyone to stay safe, but there’s no reason you can’t go out of your way to patronize some of our longtime businesses. Many of them are struggling to survive so please do what you can to support them and their employees.”

While the virus requires shoppers to wear masks and remain socially distant, Hopson said it is still possible to safely patronize local businesses.

“Small businesses in the county have gone out of the way to equip themselves with PPE, plexiglass shields and hand sanitizers to protect the safety of their customers and employees,” Hopson said. “We need to support these businesses by shopping at a local store or by getting takeout from your favorite local restaurant. When shopping online, take some extra time to try to find a local store’s website or catalog and make your holiday purchases that way.”

Hopson reminded Burlington-County businesses that zero-interest loans are available to assist them with capital funding needs.

The Burlington County Bridge Commission’s Economic Development Office secured $660,000 in federal CARES Act funding for the new Health Emergency Loan Program (HELP), which will extend up to $50,000 in zero-interest financing to any business operating in the county for business-related purchases, expenses and improvements.

Only Burlington County businesses are eligible for the loans. To qualify, those businesses must retain jobs for the term of the loan, and the borrower must have sufficient collateral in business or personal real estate to secure the loan.

Businesses can get up to $10,000 for each job retained, to a maximum of $50,000. Loans will have a 0 percent interest rate, no closing costs, a maximum payback period of 10 years, applications fees are waived and the equity in the business at risk must be at least 10 percent of the amount requested to borrow.

“The impacts from the pandemic have been unprecedented, but our county government remains committed to doing whatever we can to provide our residents and businesses with the help they need,” Hopson said. “We’re asking our citizens to shop and spend in their own backyards whenever possible. It will help your neighbors and the county’s overall economy. In fact, if every household in Burlington County spends just $10 more each month at Burlington County businesses, the economic impact would be upwards of $20 million. That’s an extraordinary sum.”

Businesses interested in submitting information for promotion by the County should email news@co.burlington.nj.us. For information on how to apply for a HELP loan and for other resources, visit http://www.bcbridges.org/covid19-resources/ or call the Bridge Commission’s Office of Economic Development and Regional Planning at 609-265-5055.