Dear Editor,
I wanted to let your readers know about an organization that’s here to help folks via individual grants for hardship brought on by COVID and/or the recent Texas Winter Storm. I’m a 7th generation Texan who grew up in the Hill Country (Menard and Brady), but I’ve lived in Houston for 20 years and am Director of Development for Southern Smoke Foundation, an organization that can potentially offer some real relief to some of your readers.
In 2017, Southern Smoke launched its Emergency Relief Fund to assist people in the food and beverage industry who are in crisis. This means we help people who produce, serve and/or cook food or beverages, a community that includes farmers and ranchers.
When COVID hit last March, millions in the food and beverage industry were immediately laid off or faced unprecedented losses. Since the advent of the pandemic, Southern Smoke Foundation has distributed more than $6 million in individual grants to approximately 2700 people nationwide. This number continues to grow.
In February of 2021, the world watched as Texas froze. And again, Southern Smoke was here to help.
Our Texas Winter Relief Fund was established, rapidly, to support folks in the food and beverage industry who are now in crisis due to catastrophic weather events in Texas.
The amount given via our grants averages around $2,000 per grantee, but each case is unique and each grant is based entirely on each grantee’s specific need. Some of the qualifying conditions for crisis that we fund include medical bills or need for life-saving medication or treatment, extensive loss due to natural disasters or COVID, evictions or homelessness, food and hunger, or having a crisis pregnancy situation or child in medical crisis.
Speaking of children, another free service we offer is through our mental health program. Southern Smoke is committed to providing resources to better the food and beverage industry through a partnership with Mental Health America of Greater Houston and the University of Houston. This program provides free mental healthcare to anyone in the food and beverage industry, and their children, who live in the State of Texas. One need not live near the University of Houston to take advantage of this program as appointments are done virtually. Information on that program can be found at <www.southernsmoke.org>.
If you or someone you know works in the food and beverage supply chain (whether a farmer, rancher, server, bartender, busser, dishwasher, manager, restaurant/bar owner, or any number of other roles) and are in crisis due to COVID or Winter Storm Uri, please reach out.
You can learn more information or apply directly for assistance at www.southernsmoke.org; or email me directly with any questions at <caroline@southernsmoke.org>.
Sincerely,
Caroline Starry
Director of Development Southern Smoke Foundation
www.southernsmoke.org