Chris Shepherd

Southern Smoke Foundation’s mission is to create a healthier and more sustainable food and beverage (F+B) industry by providing emergency relief grants nationwide and access to mental health services to F+B workers

Southern Smoke Foundation’s mental healthprogram Behind You provides access to no-costcounseling to F+B workers through its university affiliate partners in California, Illinois,Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New York,South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia,and Washington DC.

Benefits of the Behind You program include:

• Comprehensive support from a clinical team
• High-quality, evidence-based counseling
• Services offered in person and via telehealth
• The process is confidential
• Up to 20 no-cost sessions or six months of counseling

More than 7,400 no-cost mental health counseling sessions have been provided to F+B workers since 2020.

51% of their 2024 clients had never accessed counseling before or had not returned to counseling in over five years due to barriers like cost, clinician availability, and time constraints.