On March 29, Billie Eilish, Rooney Mara, and Joaquin Phoenix helped bring vegan meals to My Friend’s Place, a nonprofit that assists youth experiencing homelessness. The charitable act was in celebration of the one-year anniversary of Support + Feed, an initiative founded by Eilish’s mother, Maggie Baird, last year.
The trio of stars, along with Baird and Eilish’s father, Patrick O’Connell, brought the charity meals from vegan fast-food joint Monty’s Good Burger, which has four locations across Los Angeles and Riverside.
Baird also celebrated her birthday that day. “Thank you all for all the wonderful birthday posts! You’re all amazing and made my day so great. Thanks to everybody who donated as well in honor of my birthday,” she wrote on Instagram, paired with a photo of herself, Eilish, O’Connell, her son Finneas O’Connell, actor and YouTuber Claudia Sulewski, who Finneas is dating.
Bringing Plant-Based Food to Those in Need
Baird launched Support + Feed in response to COVID-19 as a means to support vegan small businesses while providing food to those in need.
According to the website, it began with the simple act of the family ordering a meal from their favorite plant-based restaurant, then donating it to The Midnight Mission. The Los Angeles-based charity aids individuals experiencing homelessness. Support + Feed has since expanded and now operates in New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC.
“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 in a statement sent to LIVEKINDLY.
Mara and Phoenix, both known for their vegan activism, were happy to join in on the anniversary celebration. “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,” they said in a statement.
It’s not the first time the pair has participated in hunger relief activism. Last May, they supported plant-based food company Beyond Meat’s Feed a Million+ campaign, which donated Beyond Burgers to charities selected by the couple.
