Vegan celebrities Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, Billie Eilish, and their family members helped distribute vegan meals to Los Angeles-based organization My Friend’s Place, which works to support LGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness. “At a time when most people were worried about their own health and security, Maggie dreamed up and implemented a plan to get nourishing food to people who needed it most,” Mara and Phoenix said. 

The group distributed meals donated by fast-food chain Monty’s Good Burger in celebration of the one-year anniversary of Support + Feed—an initiative created by Eilish’s mother Maggie Baird in March 2020 with the mission of feeding frontline workers and vulnerable populations while supporting local vegan restaurants. “It’s incredible to believe that what we started as a COVID crisis response to help people experiencing food insecurity by purchasing meals from small plant-based restaurants, has grown to be a real movement,” Baird said.

Support + Feed helps communities in need

Since the launch of Support + Feed, Baird has expanded the initiative to include other cities such as New York City, NY, Philadelphia, PA, and Washington, DC. During the election season in November, Baird worked with a number of vegan companies, including Monty’s Good Burger, to help feed voters and poll workers in cities across the country, including Los Angeles, CA and Phoenix, AZ. “Giving to those in need is built into the foundation of Monty’s,” the chain’s co-founder Nic Adler said. “Partnering with Support + Feed has allowed us to deliver plant-based meals to individuals and families in the most underserved communities. I could not be more proud of the work that has been done over the past year by Maggie and her army of volunteers; true heroes in the greatest time of need.”

In addition to feeding vulnerable populations and supporting vegan restaurants, Support + Feed is on a mission to educate the public about the harmful environmental effects of animal agriculture—which accounts for 14.5 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. “What we imagined as a few months worth of effort became a year of full-time volunteering for so many and now, as we have seen the impact that receiving this nourishing, delicious food has had for people and also knowing that every plant-based meal we serve has a positive impact on climate change, we are more committed than ever,” Baird said.

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