Project FEED

 In an effort to further her work with the United Nation’s World Food Program, Lauren Bush launched Feed Projects in 2007. At first it was intended as a fundraiser for the UN World Food Program, but with the rapid growth of FEED Projects, Bush co-founded, along with Ellen Gustafson, the FEED Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit with the mission of raising awareness and funds to ensure nutritious school meals for all children as a first step toward improving the global food system. The nonprofit sells eco-friendly totes, the sale of which provides a meal to a child in school for a year.

“I really wanted to support that specific food aid program because it not only gives kids that nutritious meal a day,” says Bush, “but also gives them the incentive they need to go to school in the first place⎯ for their parents to send them to school. A lot of countries are so poor that education isn’t the priority.”

             The bags are surprisingly moderately priced most under $50, a choice Bush made deliberately to give young people an opportunity to do their part. “Young people don’t have massive amounts of money to write a huge check but still want to do their part. I felt that the bag was a tangible way to give back and it’s become a trendy item,” she says. FEED Projects recently expanded their products to include accessories and apperal and have teamed up with many major companies from GAP to Kenneth Cole and most recently Clarins.

Photo: Clemens Kois

Bush’s interest in doing her part to improve the problems of the world doesn’t stop with her involvement in Project Feed. She's a vegetarian and an environmentalist. “It’s about trying to do the small things,” she says. “I recycle and I buy environmentally safe cleaning products. I think in this day and age it’s good to be mindful. It’s funny, once you start paying attention to certain things, you can’t let go.”