Many people in reentry turn to restaurant work for their first job. While readily available, these jobs are often demanding, stressful and typically low paid. As a result, many workers live paycheck-to-paycheck as they rebuild their lives.
When a crisis occurs, they may not have enough money to cover their food, rent and other monthly bills. Who can they turn to?
One place is the Southern Smoke Foundation, which exists to offer financial assistance to food and beverage (F&B) workers who are experiencing crises. Covered situations include accidents, illness, injury, and being a victim of crime or a natural disaster. (For example, someone loses their job because destruction from a hurricane or fire forces their restaurant to close.)
The foundation has distributed more than $15 million in funds since 2017. In 2024 it gave out $2.7 million via its emergency relief fund. Workers can get money to pay for essentials like groceries, clothing and medications or the cost of rent and utilities. Or it can also cover lost wages. Applicants are eligible to receive funding once every twelve months and twice in a four-year period.
Requirements for grants
Eligibility requirements for Southern Smoke Foundation grants include:
- Working at least 30 hours per week in the F&B industry for the previous six months
- Experiencing a qualifying crisis within six months of applying
- Completing an online application
In 2024, the average grant was $2,695, with 1,956 individuals granted. The most common job roles amongst recipients were servers, cooks, bartenders, managers and chefs. That year, it granted $1.7 million to F&B workers facing crisis due to a natural disaster. These included four hurricanes and the Maui fires.
The Southern Smoke Foundation also helps out with access to mental health care for F&B workers in 10 states and the District of Columbia through its Behind You program. The challenges that workers who received these grants were dealing with include post-traumatic stress syndrome, anxiety, depression, burnout and substance use.
Southern Smoke Foundation funding
Funding for Southern Smoke comes from donations and fundraising events. In 2025, the organization raised:
- $1.3 million through Southern Smoke Decanted, its annual wine auction
- $1.8 million through the Southern Smoke Festival, held annually in Houston and sponsored by Sysco
The next Southern Smoke Festival is scheduled for October 3, 2026. The foundation also partners with local sponsors nationwide to host benefit events.
CORE helps workers with children
Another organization that helps restaurant workers is CORE, specifically workers who have children. CORE offers financial grants to F&B workers, their spouse/domestic partner or a child who experiences a medical crisis, injury, death or the consequences of a natural disaster. Grants can cover things like living expenses, prescription drugs and medical equipment, childcare and funeral expenses. Applications are taken online but not accepted year-round. Workers must contact the organization to find out when to apply.
In 2024, CORE awarded an average grant of $1,195 to 993 recipients across 37 states. Among grant recipients:
- 41% were affected by natural disasters
- 31% experienced an adult medical crisis
- 19% faced a child’s medical crisis
Local nonprofits that give financial aid to F&B workers
In addition to these national organizations, there are a couple of local nonprofits that provide similar assistance.
Apron offers financial relief to workers in restaurants in the Louisville, Ky., area who are facing financial crisis because of an illness, accident, emergency or catastrophic event.
Restaurants Care, a California Restaurant Foundation program, offers grants ranging from $350 to $2,500 to F&B workers in California who have suffered an injury, death in the family, illness or housing disaster within the past three months.
For restaurant workers navigating reentry, these organizations can make the difference between instability and survival when crisis strikes.
