R.I. food bank thanks Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce for pre-wedding donation

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce made a $1 million donation to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank ahead of the couple’s wedding at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, the nonprofit organization announced. 

The Rhode Island Community Food Bank — which acts as the primary food distribution center for a network of 137 member agencies across the state — intends to use the contributions to purchase additional food for local families and to provide further support to its member agencies, the food bank said in a press release. 

“We are incredibly grateful to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce for their extraordinarily generous and unexpected gift,” CEO Melissa Cherney said in the release. “As the need across our communities continues to grow, this $1 million donation will go a long way in helping us purchase and distribute the nutritious, culturally appropriate food that Rhode Islanders deserve.”

The food bank thanked the couple in social media posts Friday, a day before Swift and Kelce’s wedding.

“We were THRILLED to learn of this unexpected gift,” the organization wrote, “which comes at a time when the need for food assistance in our state is at an all-time high.” 

The food bank said the gift is particularly valuable during the summer, which typically means slower food donations. 

“Gifts like this are a powerful reminder of the good we can do with the support of our community,” Cherney said. “This act of generosity shows that, together, we can meet this moment and truly eliminate hunger in our state.” 

The $1 million gift is one of several donations the couple made prior to their wedding. Swift and Kelce donated to other northeast charities, including nine in New York and Helping Harvest, a food bank in Pennsylvania, Variety reported. 

Rhode Island Community Food Bank noted other large donations made to charities — Feeding America, one of the largest food banks in the U.S., and Harvesters, a regional food bank serving Northeast Kansas and Northwest Missouri.

Feeding America received a $2 million donation, while Harvesters were given $1 million, according to social media posts from the organizations thanking the couple. 

“I hope their gift inspires others,” Cherney added. “It has certainly inspired us.”