PHILADELPHIA — The City of Philadelphia has announced an Emergency Grant Program to provide financial assistance of up to $10,000 per business to small neighborhood food retailers affected by the fall 2025 interruption of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
The initiative is part of the city’s One Philly SNAP Support Plan and is administered by the Department of Commerce in partnership with The Merchants Fund. The program aims to help small grocers, corner stores, bodegas, and food markets offset revenue losses resulting from SNAP benefit disruptions or federal delays.
Who Is Eligible
According to program guidelines, eligible businesses must:
- Be located in Philadelphia
- Operate a customer-facing grocery store, food market, or convenience store
- Be independently owned and operated
- Have annual revenue of $2 million or less
- Be in good standing with federal, state, and local tax authorities
- Hold all required federal, state, and local licenses and permits and be registered in good standing with the Department of Licenses and Inspections
- Accept SNAP/EBT payments and hold a valid FNS number
- Demonstrate SNAP-related revenue losses during the outage period
Priority will be given to retailers serving high-poverty communities and those with demonstrated value to their neighborhoods.
Grant Details and Timeline
- Maximum grant amount: $10,000
- Applications open: November 16
- Application deadline: December 31 at 11:59 p.m.
Applications will be reviewed after the deadline, and no funding decisions will be made until all submissions are evaluated. The grant is intended to provide short-term relief and is not designed to fully replace lost revenue or restore businesses to pre-disruption levels. Award amounts will be determined using a scoring rubric, and more complete applications may be reviewed more quickly.
Required Application Materials
Applicants are encouraged to prepare the following before applying:
- Most recent federal tax return (2024 preferred; 2023 accepted)
- Basic business information, including EIN, address, and number of employees
- A signed W-9 form
- Credit card merchant statements showing EBT/SNAP revenue losses, covering:
- November 2024
- October 2025
- November 2025 (at least November 1–15)
City officials said the emergency grants are intended to help ensure neighborhood food retailers can continue serving residents during periods of SNAP disruption and economic strain.
