![\"Taylor](\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2023-08\/tayor-swift-mc-230803-671023.jpg\")
<\/picture>A call from out of the blue<\/h2>\n
For many hunger relief organizations, getting a call from Swift\u2019s people was a shock.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe thought, \u2018Are we getting punked?\u2019\u201d says Michelle Beck, chief development officer of\u00a0Three Square Food Bank\u00a0in Southern Nevada.<\/em><\/p>\n Swift\u2019s team contacted Three Square Food Bank when the singer was in Las Vegas for her second \u201cEras Tour\u201d performance.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThey said they wanted to make a gift to help the areas that they were performing in,\u201d Beck tells TODAY.com. \u201cFor us, that was a pretty amazing day.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n News of Swift\u2019s donation quickly made the rounds.<\/p>\n \u201cPretty soon news media picked it up,\u201d Beck recalls, \u201cAnd they were calling us. And then, we were in national news \u2014 a little food bank in Las Vegas, Nevada, getting some national coverage.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n According to Beck, one in eight Southern Nevada residents are experiencing food insecurity. She hopes that the media attention around Swift\u2019s gift will raise awareness about food insecurity.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody should have dignified access to food,\u201d she says. \u201cIf you\u2019re in a position to help in any way, take some action.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Swift\u2019s donations have provided crucial relief for food banks struggling with the aftermath of the pandemic.<\/p>\n Mark Coleman, a spokesperson for Seattle hunger relief organization\u00a0Food Lifeline, says that the rates of food insecurity have outpaced donations to food banks.<\/p>\n \u201cDonation streams have gone down post-pandemic and we\u2019re having to purchase more food,\u201d he tells TODAY.com.<\/p>\n According to Coleman, 1.1 million people in Western Washington are currently experiencing food insecurity.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think most people understand how many people face food insecurity,\u201d he says. \u201cRight now, one in five children are growing up in food insecure homes. That\u2019s 20%. That just shouldn\u2019t happen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Swift donated to Food Lifeline during her Seattle \u201cEras Tour\u201d performance in July. With Swift\u2019s contribution, Food Lifeline says it will be able to provide \u201chundreds of thousands of pounds\u201d of fresh produce to families in Western Washington.<\/p>\n \u201cCash donations like Taylor\u2019s are really critical right now,\u201d Coleman says.<\/p>\n Shobana Gubbi, chief philanthropy officer of\u00a0Second Harvest of Silicon Valley\u00a0in San Jose, California \u2014 another organization Swift donated to \u2014 says her organization has also felt the post-pandemic pinch.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything costs more than it did three years ago and donations are not at the same level as they were, but the need is at the same level as it was at the peak of the pandemic,\u201d she tells TODAY.com. \u201cSo all of the food banks are feeling the squeeze. And the clients that we serve are not getting a lot of the government supports that they were during the pandemic.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n In March, the pandemic-era aid program that boosted SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits\u00a0ended, leaving many who rely on food stamps scrambling for their next meal.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, according to a July report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cost of food consumed at home\u00a0has\u00a0risen by 3.6%\u00a0over the last year.<\/p>\n Amy Ragan, the chief development officer at\u00a0Houston Food Bank, says economic challenges have exacerbated the demand for hunger relief.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just so glad (Swift) supports food banks, because the need is high, especially with inflation now,\u201d Ragan tells TODAY.com. \u201cFood banks are working hard every day. And you know, it\u2019s been tough getting food donations at some points.\u201d<\/p>\n Swift has now donated to the Houston Food Bank twice: First in 2017, during\u00a0Hurricane Harvey relief efforts, and again in April of this year when she stopped in Houston on her tour.<\/p>\n \u201cSomeone like Taylor, when she\u2019s bringing this much attention, certainly helped us gain more awareness, which is what we need to drive up donations again,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n Some organizations took a proactive approach to reaching Swift.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Tarrant Area Food Bank, located in Fort Worth, Texas, had heard about Swift’s food bank donations at other \u201cEras Tour\u201d stops.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a lot of Swifties at the Tarrant Area Food Bank,\u201d Stephen Raeside, the organization’s chief development and external affairs officer, tells TODAY.com.<\/p>\n In hopes of catching Swift’s attention when she performed in nearby Arlington, the Tarrant Area Food Bank launched an Instagram campaign, temporarily changing their name to the \u201cTaylor Area Food Bank.\u201d<\/p>\n The organization received a phone call from Swift\u2019s representatives with the news that Swift would donate to the food bank on the day of her first Arlington concert.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a very generous donation,\u201d shares Raeside.<\/p>\n Swift\u2019s contribution was used to support the food bank\u2019s summer hunger campaign, Raeside says. During the summer, children don\u2019t have access to the free and reduced school meal programs, putting a greater burden on families facing food insecurity.<\/p>\n \u201cAn endorsement from Taylor is more than we could ever ask for, and it led to a very successful fundraising campaign to provide those greatly needed summer meals,\u201d Raeside says.<\/em><\/p>\n Tarrant Area Food Bank provided 600,000 meals each week before the pandemic, according to Raeside, but increased to one million weekly meals during and after the pandemic.<\/p>\n \u201cIt put so many of our working families back over the edge,\u201d Raeside says, \u201cBut thankfully, along with partners like Taylor Swift, Tarrant Area Food Bank and all the Swifties here on staff are ready to meet that need.\u201d<\/p>\n Crucially, Swift\u2019s involvement brought the Tarrant Area Food Bank some much-needed public attention.<\/p>\n \u201cTaylor is absolutely a catalyst for social change,\u201d Raeside says. \u201cWhen Taylor donates, people follow.\u201d<\/p>\n For hunger relief organizations, having Swift\u2019s name attached to their work is priceless publicity.<\/p>\n \u201cThe best part of this is that Taylor Swift has one of the biggest voices on the planet,\u201d Coleman says. \u201cWhen Taylor Swift talks about something, everybody talks about something. And that\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to do with hunger. We\u2019re trying to make everybody aware of the size and scope of the problem, and then we can address it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThe cash gift was incredible,\u201d he adds. \u201cBut the real lasting gift of that was the gift of awareness that she gave to her fans.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Beck echoes this sentiment: \u201cIt\u2019s just that awareness she has. She has such a beautiful reputation with the public for doing good things. And to be attached to that for us was priceless.\u201d<\/p>\n Gubbi says Swift’s high-profile donation has encouraged others to contribute.<\/p>\n \u201cMore people are becoming aware,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd we are seeing more people talking to us and donating to us. I think over time, it\u2019ll generate more interest and more donations.\u201d<\/p>\n While celebrity attention is certainly a boon to food banks, Gubbi hopes people will be inspired to make a difference on a local level.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t have to be a celebrity to do what you can in your own community,\u201d she says. \u201cI think when celebrities do this, it reminds all of us to pause and do what we can. We all get so busy and caught up in our lives. I think it just reminds all of us that each of us can make a difference in our community.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Taylor Swift\u2019s \u201cEras Tour\u201d is\u00a0predicted to earn a record-breaking $1 billion, and the singer-songwriter has already been sharing the wealth. Aside from her headline-making move to give… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":77013,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-taylor-swifts"],"yoast_head":"\nFood insecurity has increased since the pandemic<\/h2>\n
Attracting Swift\u2019s attention in Texas<\/h2>\n
Swift also contributed the \u201cgift of awareness\u201d<\/h2>\n