For its third year, an initiative is underway to provide $1 million in grants to at least 60 Black-owned businesses.

Heinz, The LEE Initiative, and Southern Restaurants for Racial Justice (SRRJ) have announced they will provide the funds to business owners that apply, bringing their total contribution to $3 million over the last three years.

Eligible businesses must have been in business for at least six months and could receive up to $25,000 from the Heinz Black Kitchen Initiative, a statement reads.

“The Heinz Black Kitchen Initiative aims to celebrate and preserve the legacy of Black food culture by helping to break down barriers that keep Black voices and cooking out of America’s culinary space,” Megan Lang, director of brand communications at Heinz, said in a statement. “We’re proud to continue our partnership with The LEE Initiative and SRRJ. We’ve heard from past recipients just how impactful the grants have been in supporting their businesses across the country, and we are thrilled to provide another $1 million in grants in 2023.”

The grants aim to provide much-needed assistance when Black food businesses are still reeling from the pandemic, which created service interruptions for several eateries across the U.S., and a lack of access to capital.

A recent report from Goldman Sachs revealed that 37 per cent of Black small business owners had difficulty accessing new capital and financing — 14 percentage points higher than their non-Black peers.

Likewise, according to a recent study from the University of Washington, the summer of 2020 saw a significant outpouring of customer support for Black-owned eateries, but it was mainly fleeting.

COVID-19 also hurt the restaurant business; studies discovered that most Black-owned eateries in different U.S. cities were disproportionately affected by a decline in visitors in 2020.

“Through our partnership with Heinz and SRRJ, we’re elated to have the chance to uplift so many talented business owners across the country and to empower diverse entrepreneurs in the hospitality space,” Lindsey Ofcacek, co-founder and executive director of The LEE Initiative, said in a statement. “We’re especially excited to continue doing this work, given the success and growth of past grant recipients. There is undoubtedly more work to be done in making the industry more equitable, but I’m grateful we can play a part in deploying resources to these incredible Black entrepreneurs.”

The Heinz Black Kitchen Initiative will also unveil a second season of the Black Kitchen Podcast Series, spotlighting Black culinary innovators.

Applications will remain open until July 31. Restaurants can apply here.