“At the event SSF co-founder and chef, Chris Shepherd, brought participating chefs on stage to thank them for their help as he presented the final fundraising total. ‘I know that at any given moment that anything that is ever needed, you’ll be there for us,’ he said to them. ‘Just as we will be for you.’”

“We prep for dinner service like our jobs depend on it—because they do. But when it comes to preparing for the kind of life-altering crisis that hits with no warning, too many of us are caught off guard. But it doesn’t have to be that way.”

“’It gives you a playbook to focus on yourself,’ [Behind You participant Gabe] Medina said.”

“’Covid-19 exposed a lot of cracks in our industry, and all these years later, a lot of them have not been fixed,’ [executive director Lindsey] Brown says. ‘We find that once people in a local community take advantage of any of our resources, we see a huge increase in applications. When people realize this is the real deal and there is therapy available, word spreads.’”

“The 2013 F&W Best New Chef and his wife, Southern Smoke Foundation co-founder Lindsey Brown, believe free therapy can change the culinary world.”

“Meet the 100+ women making the culinary world a more interesting, inspiring, and innovative place, [including Southern Smoke Foundation executive director Lindsey Brown].”

“Southern Smoke now partners with university psychology departments to provide grants in exchange for therapy slots for food and beverage workers. Industry members get 20 free sessions, which roll into a sliding scale program—around $15 to $25 a session, for life. ”

“Check out photos from the first annual Behind You Classic at MacGregor Downs Country Club in Cary, North Carolina, hosted by Sam Ratto and Matt Fern. This event raised over $35,000 to support the expansion of our Behind You program in North Carolina.

Photos: Jeff Bramwell and Joshua Steadman”

“I may know how to break down a whole hog, but like many of those in the hospitality world, I stay away from emails, computers, and office nonsense as much as I can. Our passion lies on the line, and that’s why this crisis toolkit is so important. Here are a few quick tips directly from our case management team at SSF.”

“We sat down with Dr. Jordan Wright, the Founding Director of the Center for Counseling and Community Wellbeing at New York University and partner of Southern Smoke Foundation’s no-cost mental health program Behind You, to get some tips on how you can foster better mental health at your restaurant while reducing burnout and turnover — all without adding anything extra to your to-do list.”

“Chris Shepherd and Lindsey Brown wish their non-profit didn’t exist. But the rapid rise and success of Southern Smoke shows just how vital it is that it does.”

“I like many things about Southern Smoke. It gives out cash when people need it the most. Its application for the emergency grants is straightforward. There are no fancy hoops or major delays. Southern Smoke also provides mental health services to food and beverage workers. Under the best of circumstances, their work is hard and health care benefits are a luxury. After a crisis like Helene, mental health support can make the difference between falling through the cracks and rebounding.”

“This episode explores why efforts to make this industry more equitable are worth pursuing. As [Southern Smoke Founding Director Chris] Shepherd asks, ‘We are there to serve and take care of people, but who takes care of us?’”

“Southern Smoke Foundation was the beneficiary of the 3rd Annual Hotel Saint Vincent Gumbo Cook-Off in New Orleans. The event raised $9,000 for food and beverage workers nationwide.

Photos: Justin Cook”

“If you have been putting off getting help because therapy is expensive and finding a clinician who is accepting new patients can feel like a full-time job, you could be in your first counseling session within a couple of weeks. I hope you’ll share far and wide; in an industry that isn’t known for generous employment packages, this is a benefit worth taking advantage of.”

“Shepherd started the Southern Smoke Foundation as a way to raise funds for the MS Society following his friend and former sommelier Antonio Gianola’s diagnosis. Since 2015, the foundation has grown to help food and beverage workers nationwide by distributing more than 12.4 million dollars in necessary costs following a crisis, addressing mental health, and extending aid to families.”

“The profession will always be a high-pressure one, but that doesn’t mean we can’t mitigate harm where possible, [Chris Shepherd] said. Beyond the obvious barriers of accessibility and affordability, there’s also the built-in cultural stigma around asking for help. Since the Southern Smoke therapy sessions are conducted via telehealth, ‘nobody needs to know,’ he said.”

“Two words. You good? Ask a few times, you know, because you can see it in people’s faces. And then it’s at that point when your team says, no, it’s really tough. And then the next statement is that I’m not qualified to hear what you’re about to tell me. And then I will connect you with Southern Smoke because people like Kim are qualified to hear from you.”

“The Houston-based nonprofit has already awarded $1 million in grants this year—nearly double what it dispersed this time last July.”

“Today, grants are given across the spectrum of food and beverage workers in all 50 states, covering everything from medical treatments to housing to funerals—to date, they’ve distributed more than $11.5 million to food and beverage workers nationwide, touching all parts of the industry from boutique winery operators to chain restaurant staffers.”

“With this huge financial hit, [Lung] Ly decided to turn to the Southern Smoke Foundation for help—another good source he says should be top of mind for the food and beverage industry should another detrimental storm hit in the future. The Bludorn restaurants, Feges BBQ, and Jūn also had employees reach out to Southern Smoke for help. After the derecho, Brown says the nonprofit received more than 500 crisis applications for assistance from Houston-area employees and has granted $260,500 to nearly 300 of those people.”

“‘It’s really neat that Southern Smoke has decided to provide grants to university clinical programs to offer counseling for food and beverage workers at no cost,’ Patricia Yabu, director of community counseling services at Cal Lutheran University—also an accredited Behind You partner—said in a statement. ‘It’s a model that works for many reasons: It offers a diverse population of clients for our student clinicians to learn from, and since it is a learning environment, the client receives a very high level of care and attention since all student clinicians are seen under a licensed supervisor.’”

“The foundation is announcing its largest expansion yet of this program, called Behind You, which will add more opportunities for workers to talk to clinicians for free, both in Texas and nationwide.”

“‘We knew that it was time for us to scale up or grow or develop a strategy to build upon the work and become sustainable. Southern Smoke quickly rose as top of class,’ said Pay It Forward Executive Director Carrie Larson, who will lead the organization until the transition period is complete.”

“Shepherd founded the Southern Smoke Foundation to tackle some of the restaurant industry’s biggest problems. Cooks, suppliers, servers, bartenders, delivery people, and other food workers often grapple with low wages and stressful workplaces. Southern Smoke offers solutions for both of these problems, all across the United States.”

“Legendary pitmaster and Beard Award winner Aaron Franklin, who has been a brisket-serving staple at the festival since the beginning, said the heart and soul of the event is the same today as it was when it began. ‘The feels and the hugs and the high fives are always there,’ Franklin said. ‘This is the only event I cook at out of the entire year. I don’t (usually) do these things, but we will always be here.’”

“While Southern Smoke isn’t on the ground in Maui helping serve food or distributing supplies, the nonprofit is doing what they believe is most valuable. [Chief Mission Officer Cat] Bill added: ‘We’re putting money in people’s hands.’”

“Through Behind You, Southern Smoke provides grants to universities. In exchange, Southern Smoke can send clients over to them for no-cost counseling.

‘We need to make sure that we have the roadmap [for Behind You] built in each state,’ Chris Shepherd, Founding Director of Southern Smoke Foundation, said. ‘This program is going to be going long after I’m gone because it’s always going to be needed, so we have to build that path of success instead of just throwing it all at one thing and see what sticks,’ he added.”

“‘We need to stand up and say there’s a problem, and we need to encourage people in our industry to talk to someone because it doesn’t help anyone just to hold everything inside,’ Shepherd said. ‘It’s time for a change; we’ve lost too many people in our industry. We want to make mental health resources accessible to encourage as many people as possible to take advantage of counseling services.’”

“‘No one’s going to choose passing up a shift over therapy,’ says Catarina Bill, Southern Smoke’s director of philanthropy and programs, of making sure telehealth sessions are always available. ‘By removing barriers, we have a higher retention rate.’”

“While mental illness affects one in five U.S. adults, service employees have several factors—including late hours and low wages—that can exacerbate issues. Luckily, some nonprofits are ready to step in.”

“We have barely touched the tip of the iceberg. I won’t be successful until Southern Smoke isn’t needed, and honestly I don’t see that happening anytime soon.”

“Southern Smoke is there to help people in their hard times.”

“We started the emergency relief fund because we were worried about people not living paycheck to paycheck but living shift to shift,” says Lott. “We deal a lot with multigenerational homes, and if someone misses a shift, it could mean their elderly parents don’t have access to their medications, or their kids don’t get the shoes they need to go to school. We see landlords take advantage when people are really down, especially if English isn’t their first language, and we want to make sure that families who are in a vulnerable spot don’t end up in more danger.”

“Simply put, Houston has never experienced a food event like the Southern Smoke Festival. It’s something people will be talking about for a long time.”

“We should be talking about mental health. It shouldn’t be taboo,” Shepherd told Food & Wine’s editor in chief, Hunter Lewis. “Whether it’s financial aid, putting food on the table, or helping someone find a mental health professional to talk to, we’re there as a helping hand.”

“I have insurance. I’m not worried about whether I’ll be able to cover bills or have dinner on the table. The reality is, this sucks, but focusing on other problems helps me bring mine into perspective. It could be a lot worse.”

- Chef Daniel Wolfe, Creator of Corks for Cancer

“The campaign’s first one million reservation benchmark unlocked a $500,000 donation to nonprofit Southern Smoke, a crisis relief organization for workers in the food and beverage industry. Founded in 2015, the nonprofit [distributed] more than $6 million to 2,744 individuals between March 2020 and March 2021, according to its website.”

“Proceeds from sandwich sales will benefit Southern Smoke, the non-profit established by James Beard Award winner Chris Shepherd that provides cash assistance to hospitality workers in crisis situations.”

“The Southern Smoke Foundation’s Chicago Restaurant Workers Relief Fund granted $15,800 to Frantz to pay off his overdue rent and outstanding medical bills, according to the organization. He also received financial assistance from another program to pay off his electricity bill, and he received food through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.”

“The contest challenged chefs and operators in Atlanta to try plant-based Incogmeato by MorningStar Farms Homestyle Chik’n Tenders by creating unique dishes for the opportunity to wine $10,000, a three-month supply of the chik’n tenders and help support the restaurant industry, according to a press release.”

“The industry itself is doing a much better job of talking about mental health and taking it really seriously. We have seen tremendous growth here versus when we first started our mental health program at Southern Smoke. But, in the case of individuals, they should find out what resources are available to them in their area.”

“On a single day in March 2020, the foundation received more than double the number of applications for relief as in all the months after Hurricane Harvey. The following day it logged close to triple.”

“On a single day in March 2020, the foundation received more than double the number of applications for relief as in all the months after Hurricane Harvey. The following day it logged close to triple.”

“We closed 2020 as a $10 million + organization. As long as the need is there, we will answer the call. But our true hope is that one day we won’t be needed any longer.”

“Since launching, Southern Smoke Foundation has been providing relief to those in the food and beverage industry when they are in need—most recently during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“The big milestones are cool. They don’t matter unless we get everybody taken care of, though.”

“In 2017 after Hurricane Harvey, Shepherd said they switched up the initial purpose of the Southern Smoke Foundation to now grant families money through donations for an emergency relief fund ‘so that any time anybody in our industry got into some type of crisis they had some place to go.’”

“Southern Smoke evolved into a crisis relief organization after Hurricane Harvey, but the coronavirus pandemic thrust it into the spotlight. Lott explains how the organization has responded to the crisis both by staffing up to deal with a nationwide influx of applications and by staying true to its core mission of primarily assisting people with emergency medical and housing situations.”

“Chris Shepherd’s Southern Smoke Foundation has served several roles since its inception in 2015. It began as a charity to help fight multiple sclerosis, pivoted to help victims of Hurricane Harvey, and now serves hospitality workers who’ve fallen on hard times. The non-profit hired a second full-time employee right before the pandemic, but COVID-19 forced the organization to grow at a rapid rate.”

“Aaron has supported Southern Smoke since day one, and I’m so honored that he and the Hot Luck team chose Southern Smoke as their beneficiary,” Shepherd said. “Hot Luck is an incredible event, and now, the Hot Luck team is family. Tito’s and Yeti represent the best of Texas—always the first to support, help, and cheer on our industry in every way. Together, there’s so much we can do.”

“Despite launching in August, Southern Smoke Foundation leaders say they still have $3.6 million to help restaurant and bar industry workers in Cook County.”

“James Beard Award–winning Houston chef Chris Shepherd turned his nonprofit Southern Smoke organization into a national leader in pandemic relief, raising more than $4 million—and counting—for hard-strapped restaurant industry workers across the country.”

“In cities like Chicago, New York, and Boston, which currently don’t allow indoor dining, the impact will be devastating.”

“People are saying this [fund] is changing their lives when they didn’t have any hope,” Grueneberg says. “If you need help, take advantage of it. Don’t feel bad you’re applying for support. Part of the awareness is to fight any guilt or stigma.”

- Sarah Grueneberg

“Some days, we were awarding $150,000 a day. People were in such devastation. Fathers who couldn’t afford to take care of their kids, so they had their kids spread out and they’d be homeless. We have to fix that.”

“If Houston’s hospitality community had a mayor, it’d be Chris Shepherd.”

“Chef and restaurateur David Chang discusses his historic ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’ win. And, what that $1 million prize will do for the Southern Smoke Foundation, which provides support for people in the food and beverage industry.”

“Chang selected the Southern Smoke Foundation, a nonprofit started by Houston-based chef Chris Shepherd, which, in recent years, has supported the hospitality industry during times of crisis and which Food & Wine has also tapped as one of our recommended avenues to help restaurants, chefs, and their staffs survive business and job losses due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.”

“They have been doing great work for years, but kicked it into high gear at a time when the industry needed it the most,” said Chicago chef Brian Jupiter, of Frontier and Ina Mae Tavern. “Since March, the Chicago hospitality industry has really come together to help and support one another in any way they can.”

“This was a lift in my morale,” he says, choking back tears. “I’m not a man that takes handouts, but I’m a single dad and this was a lifesaver. I’ve worked hard for 30 years and never had to apply for public assistance of any nature.”

- Richard Jones

“Southern Smoke is really important right now for making sure people are being taken care of,” says John deBary, cofounder of the Restaurant Workers Community Foundation.”

“Out of these dark times, all of this positive momentum for the restaurant industry is pretty incredible. As Shepherd beautifully summed up Southern Smoke’s efforts, “We’re all in this together, and we are proud to take care of our own.””

“In an Instagram post, the foundation shared that it had granted more than $5 million in donations and funds since its founding five years ago.”

“We did not expect to be in this position,” says Shepherd, noting that there is a wait list of applicants. “But there is no end in sight.”

“[Caseworker Kim Jordan’s] job was to mark the cases that were most urgent, like the single mothers struggling to carry on after losing their jobs.”

“A Houston-based foundation is about to inject some much-needed hope, and a lot of money, into efforts to help support that community with not only financial grants, but also employment.”

“A full-fledged crisis relief organization, Southern Smoke has undoubtedly been hard at work since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, hiring 30 furloughed food and beverage professionals as case workers.”

“Dave is joined by Houston chef and restaurateur Chris Shepherd to discuss channeling cooking into charitable efforts and the inventive ways to ensure safety as dine-in restaurants begin to reopen across the United States.”

“Houston restaurateur Chris Shepherd’s nonprofit, Southern Smoke, has teamed up with the University of Houston and Mental Health America of Greater Houston to provide free treatment for food and beverage workers and their children across Texas.”

“Now the [Emergency Relief] fund is directing its efforts — and assistance — to those affected by the coronavirus crisis. Despite being inundated with statements of need, the fund has distributed more than $1.8 million during the pandemic, delivering on its promise to “take care of our own,” as Shepherd says.”

“In a major move to further secure accessibility to health care for people working in the hospitality industry, three organizations Tuesday announced a program that will offer free mental health services for all Texas food-and-beverage employees and their children.”

“In the restaurant business, workers live week-to-week and paycheck-to-paycheck. This industry is driven by heart, passion, and drive. People in hospitality are usually the first ones who take care of everyone else in a crisis, but right now we’re hurting. How can restaurant workers and owners pay taxes, rent, and utilities with no income coming in?”

“As of Monday [April 6, 2020], chef extraordinaire Chris Shepherd’s Southern Smoke Foundation has distributed, since the start of the pandemic, close to $314,000 to restaurant and bar professionals whose lives have been upended by COVID-19.”

“Somebody having to decide between staying on their medication or buying groceries doesn’t seem right to us. So that’s what we’re helping with.”

“Since its inception, Southern Smoke has donated more than $1.7 million in relief funds. By the time the coronavirus has run its course, that total will be considerably greater.”

“The food and beverage industry is not even paycheck-to-paycheck,” says the executive director of the Southern Smoke Foundation. “It’s shift-to-shift.”

“Chef Chris Shepherd’s Southern Smoke Emergency Relief Fund ramped up after Hurricane Harvey, providing funds and care for Houston food-and-beverage employees in crisis. In five years, it has raised $1.6 million. In the face of the coronavirus crisis, Southern Smoke is expanding efforts to help people who have applied from out of state; in just 24 hours it received more than 900 requests.”

“To say there was more financial need than Southern Smoke could provide was “the understatement of the century,” said executive director Kathryn Lott.”

“It’s heartbreaking to see the very establishments that nourish our bellies and souls and serve as the heart of our communities on the front lines of this crisis.”

“Houston chef Chris Shepherd’s nonprofit, Southern Smoke, fundraises year-round for food and beverage workers in crisis. Now they will channel those funds to this, prioritizing those who need help with medical bills first and foremost.”

“Crisis isn’t anything new for the Southern Smoke Foundation. Originally founded as a fundraiser to raise money for multiple sclerosis research, the organization shifted its focus to disaster relief in 2017 in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Following the storm, Southern Smoke donated more than $500,000 to hospitality industry professionals in need, and now keeps its Emergency Relief Fund open year-round to help people in the industry pay for everything from rent to essential medications.”

“Originally, Shepherd started the nonprofit foundation to raise funds for multiple sclerosis research after a friend was diagnosed with the disease; fundraising centered around an annual barbecue event that drew outside talent like David Chang, Ashley Christensen, and Aaron Franklin to Houston. But last year, Shepherd knew that servers, cooks, and bussers would be uniquely vulnerable in the aftermath of Harvey, and decided to donate Southern Smoke’s proceeds directly to service industry professionals impacted by the storm.”

“It’s a cause that chefs are eager to support. “Chefs say they’re asked to do festivals all the time, but only a few where they feel like they’re really doing this much good,” Shepherd says. “It’s one of the most moving, emotional, joyous days of the year.””

“The country’s biggest names in barbecue converged in Houston Sunday, firing up a lot of smoke. And a lot of money.”

“Taken together, this year’s combination of culinary star power, drinks, and entertainment establishes this year’s Southern Smoke as the best one yet.”

“Not only has Shepherd managed to rally this enviable roster of chefs and entertainment, but he’s also enlisted the help of his entire staff, and seeing the joy on everyone’s face is one of the best parts for Shepherd. “We’re a restaurant with a greater purpose,” he says.”

“Shepherd and HOUBBQ are turning brisket into a cure.”