Food and beverage jobs don’t always come with much of a safety net. One unexpected illness, emergency or loss of income can turn into a financial crisis fast. The Southern Smoke Foundation created its Emergency Relief Fund specifically to help workers in the industry when something goes wrong.
What the Emergency Relief Fund Covers
Southern Smoke Foundation grants can help with expenses related to a qualifying crisis, including:
- Groceries and clothing
- Medications
- Rent, utilities and other housing expenses
- Lost wages
- Transportation
- Medical expenses
- Eligible mental health-related expenses
Award amounts aren’t fixed. Southern Smoke reviews applications individually and determines assistance based on the applicant’s documented needs and eligible expenses.
Since 2015, Southern Smoke Foundation has distributed more than $16.5 million in assistance.
Who Qualifies for a Southern Smoke Grant?
For the regular Emergency Relief Fund, you’ll generally need to meet all of the following requirements:
- Currently work in the food and beverage industry, generally at least 30 hours per week
- Have at least six months of verifiable employment history in the industry
- Earn taxable income
- Have experienced a qualifying unforeseen crisis within the last six months
Qualifying crises can include accidents, illness or injury, housing emergencies, lost income from an unforeseen business closure or emergency, domestic violence or another unsafe living situation, natural disasters, theft and unexpected caregiving responsibilities.
Southern Smoke also lists some exceptions to its standard work-hour requirement for certain circumstances, including documented medical crises and workers receiving SSI, so it’s worth checking the current eligibility rules if you’re unsure whether your work history qualifies.
How Often Can You Get Help?
For regular Emergency Relief Fund grants, eligible workers can receive one grant every 12 months, with a maximum of two ERF grants within a four-year period.
Large-scale crisis grants, including disaster assistance, follow separate rules. Southern Smoke says disaster assistance may be awarded up to twice within a 12-month period, and large-scale crisis grants don’t count toward the regular two-grants-in-four-years limit.
Receiving assistance in the past doesn’t guarantee that another application will be approved. Each request is reviewed based on the circumstances and available documentation.
How to Apply
Southern Smoke uses two different application portals depending on what happened:
- If the crisis is specific to you or your household, apply through the standard Emergency Relief Fund application.
- If you’ve been affected by a large-scale crisis that impacted multiple workers or your community, such as a natural disaster, use the large-scale crisis application.
For an individual Emergency Relief Fund application, you’ll generally need to provide:
- Your contact and household information
- A statement explaining what happened and what assistance you need
- Paystubs or other requested information verifying your employment
- Documents supporting the expenses you’re asking Southern Smoke to help with
Depending on your situation, supporting documents might include a lease, medical bills, utility statements, an eviction notice or other records showing your expenses.
Southern Smoke provides examples of acceptable supporting documents if you’re not sure what to submit.
Don’t Wait Too Long to Apply
For the regular Emergency Relief Fund, applications generally need to be submitted within six months of the unforeseen crisis.
Natural disasters and other large-scale events can have separate application deadlines established by Southern Smoke based on the impact, so check the current disaster application information if that’s why you’re seeking help.
If you’re dealing with an individual crisis, gathering your documentation sooner can make it easier to submit your application within the required window.
Relief Recap
Southern Smoke Foundation’s Emergency Relief Fund provides financial assistance specifically for people working in the food and beverage industry who are dealing with an unforeseen crisis.
Eligible workers may be able to get help with rent, utilities, groceries, transportation, medical expenses, lost wages and other qualifying costs. Award amounts vary because Southern Smoke evaluates each application based on the person’s documented needs.
For the regular Emergency Relief Fund, you generally need at least six months of industry employment and a qualifying crisis that occurred within the last six months.
If transportation or car costs are part of what’s weighing you down right now, our guide to charities that help with car payments is worth a look too.
