GRAND FORKS — A handful of companies were represented at the Grand Forks Growth Fund meeting Monday to ask for a variety of types of help with their businesses.

The committee declared Snack Shack’s current Start-Up Grand Forks loan to be in default and written off as uncollectible “at this time."

The business was allowed to extend payment deferral on a $17,798 Start-Up Grand Forks loan and $8,899 in matching funds from the North Dakota Development Fund (NDDF) to purchase and fit-up equipment for establishing a mobile food vending operation last March. The committee’s action does not resolve the debt if the business is able to open again.

The business made its first payment on time in April 2021, but its owner, Jeff Holt, said the business had experienced COVID-related negative impacts. Payments were deferred via the JDA’s three-month COVID-19 forbearance option, moving the next payment date to Aug. 1, 2021, but no payments were received for the next three months. Holt said in October his trailer was damaged in transit and was unusable, making it impossible to stay open. The business has no assets, liquid or otherwise, to repay the loan.

Holt sent a letter to the committee outlining the troubles his business faced, as well as thanking the committee for its help.

“First, I would like to say thank you to everyone involved in providing the opportunity for the Snack Shack to become a reality,” Holt said in the letter. “Our business plan is sound, and the time spent at events in 2021 showed steady sales growth. A business dream was realized, and for this my wife and I are grateful.”