Broadway Cares Responds To SNAP Uncertainty With $1.5 Million In Emergency Food Grants

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS announced $1.5 million in emergency grants to support food service organizations nationwide, helping ensure meals and essential nutrition for millions affected by the federal government's uncertainty in providing November's SNAP benefits. 

Broadway Cares also announced $100,000 in emergency support for two organizations providing on-the-ground relief to those affected by the historic devastation of Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica, and across the Caribbean: World Central Kitchen and World Food Program USA.

The emergency grants responding to the reduction in SNAP funding are being distributed to the 148 food pantries, meal delivery services and congregate meal programs that are part of Broadway Cares' National Grants Program. While these organizations received annual support during the February food grants round totaling $2.9 million. These one-time additional grants, represent an additional 50% of what they received earlier this year, offering lifesaving assistance and essential meals at this critical moment.

“The organizations we support across the country were already stretched thin from budget cuts and lost funding,” said Danny Whitman, executive director of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. “This new heartbreaking blow to SNAP benefits means even more people are reaching out for help. Thanks to the generosity of our theater community - those onstage, backstage and in the audience - these emergency grants will immediately provide warm, nutritious meals to countless individuals and families in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.”

The hurricane relief grants are in response to Hurricane Melissa, one of the most devastating  Category 5 storms in history that battered Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba with torrential rain, destructive winds and catastrophic flooding last week. Entire communities were submerged, with homes, schools, hospitals and agricultural fields severely damaged or destroyed. Widespread power outages and impassable roads have hampered relief efforts, leaving thousands displaced across the Caribbean.

The emergency grants are being awarded to:

• World Central Kitchen, founded in 2010 by Chef José Andrés, is first to the frontlines, providing millions of fresh meals around the world during natural disasters, humanitarian crises and other emergencies. The organization was on the ground before Hurricane Melissa hit, ready to deliver meals, fresh fruit and water to communities across Jamaica and Haiti. By partnering with local chefs and restaurants, World Central Kitchen not only feeds those in crisis but also helps revive local economies. Its teams are also building two large-scale field kitchens capable of preparing up to 60,000 meals a day and air dropping food to remote locations.
• World Food Program USA is the U.S.-based charitable partner of the UN's World Food Programme, which pre-positioned mobile warehouses in Cuba, Jamaica and Haiti. Now, after the storm, they are providing emergency food kits, generators and other supplies for rapid response in the hardest hit areas. 

“In moments of profound uncertainty, whether it's families losing access to food because of reduced SNAP benefits or communities devastated by natural disasters, Broadway steps forward with action,” said Robert E. Wankel, president of the Broadway Cares Board of Trustees and chairman and CEO of The Shubert Organization. “The theater community has always met crises with care, ensuring hope reaches those who need it most.”

In the face of disaster or emergency need, Broadway Cares, on behalf of the entire theater community, consistently steps up to support organizations providing on-the-ground help. Previous emergency grants have supported recovery efforts after natural disasters like hurricanes and wildfires; helped ensure access to critical reproductive health care and provided humanitarian and pandemic relief across the country and around the world.

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the philanthropic heart of Broadway, is one of the nation's leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations. By drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of the American theater community, since 1988 Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS has awarded more than $300 million for essential services for people with HIV/AIDS and other critical illnesses across the United States.

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is the major supporter of the social service programs at the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actors Fund), including The Friedman Health Center for the Performing Arts, the HIV/AIDS Initiative and the Phyllis Newman Women's Health Initiative. Broadway Cares provides annual grants to more than 450 AIDS and family service organizations in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., providing lifesaving medication, healthy meals, counseling and emergency assistance. At times of crisis, Broadway Cares also awards one-time humanitarian grants to provide emergency aid across the US and around the world