Raytheon Technologies has donated $5 million to Los Angeles County Food Bank to provide for the increased need of food as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company reported on Monday. 

"Prior to COVID-19, 1 in 5 people in LA County faced food insecurity, including 1 in 4 children," said Michael Flood, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. "Since COVID-19, we have seen the need for food assistance increase markedly, and we now estimate that we are helping 500,000 people each month.”

The need for food assistance in LA County has increased by 70 percent since the pandemic struck in early 2020. Raytheon Technologies has allocated funds to Feeding America to support local food banks and provide food and other essentials to people in need. With the donation, food banks will support children, seniors, families and individuals throughout LA County.

“We are proud to partner with Raytheon Technologies to provide meals to people who struggle to put food on the tables," added Flood.  

In addition to the normal work of the Food Bank, the organization has organized drive-thru distributions to help meet the extra need. These distributions, a spinoff of the Food Bank's Mobile Food Pantry program, allow food recipients to stay safely in their vehicles while emergency food kits are placed into trunks. 

"The impact of COVID-19 on our communities has been swift and unprecedented," said Greg Hayes, CEO of Raytheon Technologies. "The communities where our employees live and work are in need, and it's our responsibility to support our friends and neighbors during this crisis."

About Raytheon Technologies 

Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an aerospace and defense company that provides advanced systems and services for commercial, military and government customers worldwide. With 195,000 employees and four industry-leading businesses ― Collins Aerospace Systems, Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon Intelligence & Space and Raytheon Missiles & Defense ― the company delivers solutions that push the boundaries in avionics, cybersecurity, directed energy, electric propulsion, hypersonics, and quantum physics. 

The company, formed in 2020 through the combination of Raytheon Company and the United Technologies Corporation aerospace businesses, is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Jovita Carranza, Small Business Administration (SBA) administrator, has launched an online tool for small businesses and nonprofits to be matched with Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs), Certified Development Companies (CDCs), Farm Credit System lenders, Microlenders and traditional smaller asset size lenders in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), SBA announced on Monday.  

"The SBA is focused on assisting eligible borrowers in underserved and disadvantaged communities and connecting them with forgivable PPP loans, especially before the June 30, 2020, application deadline," said Carranza. 

SBA's Lender Match is an additional resource for pandemic-affected small businesses who have not applied for or received an approved PPP loan to connect with lenders. The forgivable PPP loan is emergency relief assistance aimed at sustaining businesses and keeping employees on payroll.  Lender Match does not accept Economic Injury Disaster Loan applications.

“SBA is utilizing these partnerships with CDFIs, MDIs, CDCs, Farm Credit System lenders, Microlenders and many other participating small asset lenders to ensure that access to this emergency funding reaches the most small businesses and their employees in need – a key priority for President Trump," added Carranza. 

The borrowers will receive an email from lenders who have been matched with them, within two business days after entering their information into the Lender Match platform. The borrower can see lenders' requests for them to begin an application and will be able to begin the application process directly from the email they receive. 

"As communities begin to carefully reopen across the country, there are still many more opportunities to provide this assistance to businesses who have yet to access these forgivable loans,” Carranza concluded. 

About the U.S. Small Business Administration 

The U.S. Small Business Administration makes the American dream of business ownership a reality. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations.

The Arkansas Department of Agriculture has launched a new website that combines curated content from each of the department’s divisions into one streamlined user experience. The newly designed agriculture.arkansas.gov provides a user-friendly design and consolidates the existing websites of the Natural Resources Division, the State Board of Registration for Foresters, and the Arkansas Water Well Construction Commission that were added to the Department under the Transformation Act of 2019.

“We are excited to offer an updated and more efficient website to serve as a comprehensive resource for our customers and stakeholders,” said Department of Agriculture Secretary Wes Ward. “It was a pleasure working with the Information Network of Arkansas on the new website, and we appreciate the team’s hard work.”

A Pandemic Response Accountability Committee report has identified the top challenges facing federal agencies in their COVID-19 pandemic response efforts and one of those is financial management.

“Key areas of concern include both the need for accurate information concerning pandemic-related spending and the significant amount of money federal agencies may lose as the result of improper payments,” the PRAC said in the report.

The three other areas of concern cited in the report are overseeing the use of grant funds and tracking grant performance; managing federal information technology systems and safeguarding such systems from cyber attacks; and protecting the health and safety of government employees, private sector workers, patients, inmates and detainees while maintaining effective operations.

The report was based on the committee’s review of submissions by 37 offices of inspector general overseeing agencies that are involved in pandemic response and emergency relief efforts.

OIGs also mentioned several factors impacting these challenges, including the large amount of appropriated funds and the need to maintain operations and disburse aid rapidly.

The PRAC within the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency was created to help oversee how agencies spend approximately $2.4T in funds on COVID-19 response efforts. The funds were appropriated through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act and three related funding measures that Congress passed between March and April.