Southern Smoke Foundation
Foundation · Museum District
4200 Montrose Blvd #430, Houston, TX 77006
Highlights
Provides emergency cash grants, mental health care for F&B workers
Provides emergency cash grants, mental health care for F&B workers
"The Southern Smoke Festival, hosted by Chef Chris Shepherd, is an annual outdoor food and drink festival benefiting restaurant workers in crisis. The 2024 edition will feature 73 chefs from around the country, including notable names like Aaron Franklin and Emmanuel Chavez. The festival also includes cooking demonstrations, live music, and giveaways, with proceeds supporting the Southern Smoke Foundation’s emergency relief fund and mental health program." - Brittany Britto Garley
"A relief organization focused on supporting food-service workers with financial and mental-health assistance, it has provided direct funds for medical bills, rent, and mental-health care since pivoting after 2017 and expanded pandemic-era relief in 2020; the foundation has been credited with changing lives by offering emergency support to workers who otherwise have few options." - Jaya Saxena
"Southern Smoke, the Houston-based nonprofit organization that assists service industry workers in times of crisis, is also gearing up to help both workers and restaurant owners. In a post to his official Facebook page, Southern Smoke founder and chef Chris Shepherd encouraged hospitality workers impacted by the storm to apply for funds that can help them meet both immediate and long-term needs." - Amy McCarthy
"The Southern Smoke Foundation in Houston has been enormously helpful to people in the restaurant industry nationwide who have fallen on hard times. It’s given out $4.7 million since it was founded in 2017, most of it recently." - Erin Russell
"Based in Houston, the Southern Smoke Foundation’s Emergency Relief Fund provides cash grants to hospitality workers in need of financial assistance to pay rent, medical bills, or other expenses. Those in need can find Southern Smoke’s application for funding on its website." - Amy McCarthy
