The World Health Organization declared the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) a pandemic on March 11, 2020, (CDC, 2020) and shortly after on March 13, 2020, President Trump declared that the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States was a national emergency (White House, 2020a). The Trump administration issued federal guidelines on March 16 recommending that Americans work from home when possible, avoid groups of more than 10 people and avoid eating in restaurants and bars (White House, 2020b). Many states adopted and adapted these federal guidelines into executive orders (EO), which either suggested or required that citizens in those states follow the guidelines. In response to the deleterious effects of the pandemic upon small businesses, Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act was passed by Congress (U.S. Department of Treasury, 2020a). One of these small business assistance programs under the CARES Act is the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). This program is designed to assist small business owners with maintaining payrolls and other business operating expenses during the pandemic (BEA, 2020). The purpose of this study is to provide information about participation by Tennessee’s food and beverage industry participants in the PPP.