Dandelion Cafe owners Sarah Lieberman and J.C. Ricks with Mireya Villarreal of GMA, Chris Shepherd and Lindsey Brown of Southern Smoke Foundation (photo by Shane Dante Photography)
THE SOUTHERN SMOKE Foundation, established by chef Chris Shepherd, has only been around for seven years — but that's long enough to have helped hospitality workers through hurricanes, freezes, a pandemic, and countless other personal situations requiring emergency relief.
The group says that food and beverage workers lose an average of $1,175 in income during a natural disaster; its goal is to provide assistance in the form of grants to those affected. This time around, it's getting a big assist from Pappas Restaurants, which donated $75,000 in the wake of Beryl and has plans to give more via a continued partnership.
Additionally, the Houston Hospitality Alliance gave $25,000, and an anonymous donor pledged to match $25,000. And DoorDash stepped up, offering grant recipients "community credits" to ensure that meals and essential groceries and household items can be delivered at no cost.
After the derecho in May, SSF granted $330,600 in funds to 372 food and beverage workers. The deadline to apply for Beryl-related assistance is Aug. 16, and turnaround time from application receipt to release of funds is around two weeks. The nonprofit issued its first grants a couple weeks ago to workers at Dandelion Cafe; a touching segment aired on Good Morning America.
“We are so grateful to our partners,” said Lindsey Brown, SSF executive director. “As of July 1, 2024, we’ve distributed more than $1 million in emergency relief grants to food and beverage workers in crisis nationwide. We distributed $1 million in grants during the entirety of 2023 and are on pace to more than double our grants to F+B workers this year. The generous support from our partners like Pappas Restaurants, the Houston Hospitality Alliance, and DoorDash help us to be a safety net for such a fragile industry, and we welcome support from anyone else who loves food and beverage and wants to not only see the industry survive but thrive.”
To make a donation to SSF, click here.
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