Southern Smoke Foundation’s Hospitality Assistance Fund Now Accepting Applications

Houston’s own Southern Smoke Foundation is now taking applications from restaurant and bar employees in Houston who are in need of assistance after Hurricane Harvey.

The nonprofit organization has teamed up with Legacy Community Health to distribute need-based grants to individuals employed in the city’s hospitality industry that were affected by the storm. Servers, cooks, restaurant owners, and employees of restaurant supply companies (like delivery drivers, farmers, and brewery employees) are eligible to apply for assistance, which will be awarded in $1,000 increments according to need.

A committee of as-yet-unnamed volunteers will verify the voracity of the information on each application, then send it to an “award committee” that will dole out the small grants of cash. According to a press release, no single awardee will receive more than $10,000, and each grant will be considered taxable income. At present, the Southern Smoke Foundation expects that it will be able to award $500,000 in individual grants.

Affected employees can now apply for assistance via the Southern Smoke Foundation’s website. Applications must be received by October 23, 2017.