Taylor Swift has a convoy of at least 50 trucks for her Eras Tour and has now given one charity the use of one of their own after donating it to food banks in each UK city where she performs.
The charity says Swift's modest donation – the largest donation Cardiff Foodbank has ever received from an individual – has given it the “room to breathe” to try something different.
“We will be purchasing an articulated truck full of food and other most needed items to supplement our emergency food packs,” said Rachel Biggs, chief executive of the charity, which provided more than 20,000 emergency food packs to people in need last year and has seen an 8% increase in demand this year.
“That's the equivalent of providing 1,200 people with three meals a day for three days, or 10,800 meals, which is two and a half weeks' worth of what we would normally distribute,” she said.
“The breathing space Taylor's donation gives us will allow us to hold our heads up and shift our focus from the food bank to creating a sustainable business that will help address the root causes of poverty and support those who currently need our help with the financial support to get them on a path where they no longer need our assistance.”
Rich Jones, chief executive of St Andrews Community Network in Liverpool, said Swift's unexpected donation would cover food donations over the next 12 months, which runs 11 food banks and provides longer-term food assistance through a network of eight community pantries.
“This is truly an incredible gift,” he said. “For so long, we've had to subsidize our own food supply due to rising prices, increased demand and fewer donations.”
“But it's fair to say that Taylor Swift has effectively paid our food bills for 12 months, which frees us up to focus on our future fundraising efforts and really think about how we can achieve our ambition of eliminating the need for food banks in the first place through financial advice, income maximisation work, welfare payments and work.”
Charlotte Moorcroft, also from the charity, said the impact of the donation would be felt across the city and that the personal support from the singer had energised the whole charity.
“It's a huge relief for us to be able to take some of the strain off the organization's infrastructure,” she said. “It takes a little bit of the burden off of us and will make a big difference in the work we can do.”
She added: “It was also lovely to see Taylor so keen to impress upon us her support for the work of our team.”
Swift, one of the richest and most powerful women in the world, entered billionaire territory in 2023 thanks to her smash-hit “Eraste” tour. Billboard estimated earlier this month that Swift has made around $2 billion (£1.57 billion) this year from her music, tours and accompanying films and merchandise, not taking into account additional revenue streams and sponsorships.
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This isn't the first time the singer has donated to food banks: in 2020, she donated to charities in Ohio, and in March 2023, she donated to food banks in Arizona and Las Vegas ahead of her Hellas Tour appearance.
The star frequently donates the proceeds from his various songs to charity: all proceeds from his 2012 song “Ronan,” named after a boy with a deadly brain tumor, went to cancer charities, proceeds from 2015's “Welcome to New York” went to New York City schools, and video proceeds from “Wildest Dreams” that same year went to animal rescue organizations.
Swift has also given back during the pandemic, donating $50,000 to a mother of five whose husband died from COVID-19.
Several fans revealed that the superstar has personally sent donations to people who have revealed online that they are struggling during lockdown, and she also donated $30,000 to help an aspiring maths student studying at the University of Warwick in 2020.
