Broadway Cares has awarded a record-breaking $2.83 million in grants to 146 food service and meal delivery programs across the country.

These annual grants—awarded by a committee of 18 Broadway stage managers and actors who played a vital role in Broadway Cares’ in-theatre fundraising efforts—follow the #RedBuckets fall fundraising in theatres on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and by national tours.

Four new grantees were added to the food grants round for 2024: Aisling Irish Community & Cultural Center in Yonkers, New York; Congregation Rodeph Sholom in New York City; One Sandwich at a Time in White Plans, New York; and West Side Campaign Against Hunger in New York City.

In the wake of the pandemic and rising food costs, Broadway Cares’ food service grants have increased by more than 80 percent over the last decade. These grants ensure that those affected by HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses can access healthy meals through food pantries, meal deliveries, and congregate food programs.

“At the core of our humanitarian mission is channeling the generosity of Broadway into helping people in need and, for so many, that starts with basic necessities like food,” Broadway Cares Executive Director Tom Viola said in a statement. “Food is medicine, life, and hope. People shouldn’t be forced to decide between a nourishing meal and paying for heat this winter. This record-breaking and life-affirming grant-making is only possible because of the incredible generosity and kindness of theatrical communities and audiences nationwide.”

These grants are in addition to $4.4 million that has been provided this year to the Entertainment Community Fund, which provides a safety net of social services for those in the entertainment industry and the performing arts.

This spring, Broadway Cares’ National Grants Program will award additional grants to AIDS service organizations, health clinics, and advocacy organizations and to theatre and entertainment industry social service agencies. This summer, grants will be awarded to social service organizations whose work includes direct services, emergency financial assistance, harm reduction programs, and quality of life services. In 2023, $17.2 million was awarded to more than 450 AIDS and family service organizations around the country as well as the expansive social services of the Entertainment Community Fund.

Broadway Cares 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 theatre community, since 1988 Broadway Cares has raised more than $300 million for essential services for people with HIV/AIDS and other critical illnesses across the United States.

VisitBroadwayCares.org.