Support + Feed just marked their one-year anniversary of serving the community! How did they celebrate? By continuing to provide vegan meals to those in need. This time, they partnered with Monty’s Good Burger to donate plant-based burgers to members of the LGBTQ+ youth program, My Friend’s Place. But that’s not all! Vegan celebs, Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara were there too!
When Maggie Baird realized the immense financial strain her favorite local vegan restaurants would experience from the pandemic, she started brainstorming ways to help. At the same time, she couldn’t help but notice how many people in the community didn’t have access to nourishing meals during such a tumultuous time. From those two struggles came one solution—Support + Feed. On March 29th, 2020, Baird founded the nonprofit organization with the initial goal of supporting local restaurants and feeding people in need. This was achieved by encouraging community members to donate money to their favorite plant-based restaurants that would in turn make meals to feed those in need—frontline workers, medical professionals, disadvantaged youth, members of the houseless community, and more.
As word got out about Baird’s successful launch in Los Angeles, people across the country started reaching out in hopes to start the program in their town. Shortly after that, Support + Feed was launched in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. As the social and economic climate continues to change, Support + Feed adjusts their focus to what is most needed in the community at the time. The organization continues with their efforts to lift up restaurants and serve plant-based meals to those in need, but now, they’ve extended their mission in hopes for a more lasting impact. Baird and her team place a high emphasis on raising awareness for a plant-based diet to combat climate change and food insecurity. When they deliver meals to underserved communities, they don’t just drop them off, they educate the consumers on the benefits of plant-based living.
“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.” says Support + Feed founder, Maggie Baird, “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!”
To celebrate their one-year anniversary, Support + Feed partnered up with Monty‘s Good Burger, Joaquin Phoenix, and Rooney Mara to give those glorious vegan burgers to members of My Friend’s place, an organization offering comprehensive services to LGBTQ+ youth.
Rooney Mara and Joaquin Phoenix joined the celebration stating “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. We were honored to celebrate Support + Feed’s first anniversary at such an important institution like My Friend’s Place.”
To learn more about how you can fight climate change, one meal at a time, and get involved, visit supportandfeed.com or follow @supportandfeed on Instagram.
Photo credit: Jae Ramos
