Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” is predicted 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 $100,000 bonuses to her tour truck drivers, Swift has been quietly donating to local food banks and hunger relief organizations in the areas she visits on her tour.

Swift’s donations have made possible additional resources for these organizations but also drawn widespread attention to the issue of food insecurity in the U.S.

Attracting Swift’s attention in Texas
Some organizations took a proactive approach to reaching Swift.

The Tarrant Area Food Bank, located in Fort Worth, Texas, had heard about Swift's food bank donations at other “Eras Tour” stops.

“We have a lot of Swifties at the Tarrant Area Food Bank,” Stephen Raeside, the organization's chief development and external affairs officer, tells TODAY.com.

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 “Taylor Area Food Bank.”

The organization received a phone call from Swift’s representatives with the news that Swift would donate to the food bank on the day of her first Arlington concert.

“It was a very generous donation,” shares Raeside.

Swift’s contribution was used to support the food bank’s summer hunger campaign, Raeside says. During the summer, children don’t have access to the free and reduced school meal programs, putting a greater burden on families facing food insecurity.

“An 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,” Raeside says.

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.

“It put so many of our working families back over the edge,” Raeside says, “But thankfully, along with partners like Taylor Swift, Tarrant Area Food Bank and all the Swifties here on staff are ready to meet that need.”

Crucially, Swift’s involvement brought the Tarrant Area Food Bank some much-needed public attention.

“Taylor is absolutely a catalyst for social change,” Raeside says. “When Taylor donates, people follow.”
TODAY.com spoke with several of Swift’s beneficiaries across the country — who declined to share the size of her gifts — about the impact of her charitability.