Not so 'cruel summer' for US food banks as Taylor Swift donates at each 'Eras' tour stop

WASHINGTON (TND) — Economists have been touting the economic impact of Taylor Swift's Eras tour on U.S. cities across the country, but regional food banks have also been reaping the benefit of her presence.

Food banks near each of the locations where Swift has performed have quietly been receiving donations from the music star.

We got a call kind of out of the blue,” Jessica Sund, director ofDevelopment and Communications for the Channel One Regional Food Bank outside Minneapolis told a local news station. “I think it shows how much she really cares about what these people are experiencing throughout the states she visits.

She began giving to communities, which has been called "generous" by each individual organization, in March during her first stop of the tour in Glendale, Arizona.

"Donations like this from very high-profile people like Taylor Swift help denote that hunger is still a problem in the U.S. It's here and it's a problem across the country,"Terri Shoemaker, vice president of External Relations at the Arizona Food Bank Network, told the AZ Central.

Following her concerts Friday and Saturday at Denver's Empower Field, the Food Bank of the Rockies discussed her donation, saying it would provide for around 75,000 meals.

The Colorado-based organization said it was seeing a 40% to 60% increase in the number of people using its mobile pantries from this time last year.

Feeding America reported in May that nearly two-thirds (65%) of food banks in their survey reported an increase in the number of Americans seeking charitable food assistance; and 95% of those food banks that responded to the survey saw demand increase or stayed the same for food assistance between February and March 2023.

"We are seeing more need now than we ever have before. This is hitting Food Bank of the Rockies’ budget hard. To meet the needs of our neighbors experiencing hunger, we are spending triple what we were pre-COVID on food purchasing every month," said Aditi Desai, chief marketing officer at Food Bank of the Rockies.

"We’ve been able to meet the increased demand thanks to the generosity of individuals like Taylor Swift. Her gift will help fuel our work across the Rockies and allow us to distribute more food to our communities," Desai continued. "I was shocked and then thrilled by the news! We are grateful for her inspired support in answering the challenge of hunger."