Monday, November 16, 2009

GREEN is UNIVERSAL


This Green Week the networks of NBC Universal have joined together to ask their viewers to make a pledge to help the environment. For each pledge made, NBCU will make a donation to the FEED Foundation.

Click a pledge HERE and help us Make Green Count!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Lauren is one of Fortune 500's Most Powerful Women!

Check out Lauren's awesome video at the Fortune 500's Most Powerful Women conference in California this year!

Friday, October 23, 2009

Vote for FEED on QuakerTalk!!

The FEED Foundation has been chosen by Quaker Oats and food blogger Bee Yinn Low for a new oatmeal recipe challenge!

To VOTE for FEED: click HERE and go to VOTE and choose "TOASTED PUMPKIN" and give her a thumbs up!!!!!!!

Bee Yinn Low described a delicious "Toasted Pumpkin" oatmeal recipe and if it wins, the FEED Foundation will get $10,000...vote for her here today:

and tell your friends to vote!!!

Friday, October 16, 2009

Happy World Food Day!!!


You may not know that today is World Food Day, but it is. It is a day to mindful about food issues. It is a day to be grateful for all the delicious and nutritious food we do have access to. And it is a day to want to help those who do not have access to such food- here in our own country and abroad in developing countries.

Today 1.02 billion people around the world are hungry! And a child dies every five seconds from hunger-related causes. These are not just numbers, they are people who desperately need our help! And by help, I am not just talking about a band-aid, but your thoughts, your efforts, and hopefully your solutions to change the food system as a whole.

Today Team FEED (Ellen, Nicole, Kristina, and I) volunteered at God's Love We Deliver. They are an amazing organization working right here in our backyard of New York to deliver food to people who are too ill to shop and cook for themselves. They serve 1600 people a day, 3000 meals. These meals are all prepared out of fresh ingredients and then delivered by hand apartment by apartment. Today Team FEED was on the delivery side, serving meals to people in the downtown Manhattan area. One woman Kay chatted to us for a bit, and as we were leaving thanked us for "Bringing her, her Friday fish". I would encourage you all today or any day to volunteer at a local organization that needs your help. If you are interested in learning more about God's Love We Deliver, please visit www.godslovewedeliver.org.

Our Friend Howard's new book is AWESOME!!!

From the Daily Beast:
"For years, Howard Buffett focused his charitable efforts on environmental preservation. But ultimately, the farmer-philanthropist—and author of the new book Fragile: The Human Condition—decided feeding the planet came first."


Read about the book and Howard's inspiring work as an Ambassador for the UN World Food Program and as the head of his own Foundation, The Howard G. Buffett Foundation.

Go Howard!!!!

Thursday, October 15, 2009

American Lunch Room...

The kids in America are usually able to access school lunches...but that doesnt mean its healthful or even "food." Check out the brilliant and simple images of American school lunches at americanlunchroom.com.

We would love for to FEED fans to submit photos to the site and bring attention to what is really being eaten in the cafeterias across America. Stay tuned for FEED's involvement in trying to bring healthier school lunches to American kids!

FEEDBlog joins Bloggers against Hunger

With the World Food Program reporting that now 1 billion people are officially counted among the hungry, we wanted to join the count of people who are trying to raise awareness about this awful scourge to humanity.
The WFP Bloggers Against Hunger movement is a great way to get more people talking about the effects of the food crisis and the increase in the chrnoically hungry around the world.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Millennium Promise Partner's Meeting


Photo from visit to Ruhiira Millennium Village in Uganda, 2009.

Just as September and the UN General Assembly are getting the fall off to a running start, the Millennium Promise Partners Meeting was a great harbinger of progress in Africa for the months to come. For us at FEED, our partnership with the Millennium Villages Project officially kicked off a few months ago when we brought the first of the FEED Health backpacks to Community Health Workers (CHW's) traveling on foot to visit households throughout Ruhiira, Uganda. At this year's Millennium Promise Partners meeting, the Ruhiira team was in town to discuss various successes, including the CHW program, as was President Museveni of Uganda, proving that there is a great will to scale the Millennium Villages successes.


For me, the best part of working with Millennium Promise on the Millennium Villages Project is the real sense that silos and the territoriality of old school aid are being broken down. At FEED Projects, we use the fashion industry to raise money and awareness for smart development programs, like school-feeding implemented by the UN World Food Program (WFP) and the MV CHW program. The Millennium Villages have school-feeding programs in most of their sites and the partnership with WFP is so strong that WFP Executive Director was at the MV meeting. Actually, it felt like a veritable development-community reunion, besides WFP colleagues, friends from the ONE campaign, UNICEF, and the Clinton Foundation were all there to support the Villages and work together. I also saw friends in the fashion world, like Mary Fanaro, who uses a similar model to FEED in her Omnipeace brand to raise money and awareness for the Millennium Villages and met knew friends from the Tommy Hilfiger Corporate Foundation. It is so inspiring and hopeful to be a part of a great community of people working together to affect big change for Africa.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Fashion's Night Out - Thursday, September 10

Check out this awesome video about Fashion's Night Out on Thursday, September 10 - featuring Sarah Jessica Parker, Ashley Olsen, Vera Wang, P. Diddy, Anna Wintour, and many others!

And be sure to visit us at the Barnes and Noble on 46th Street and 5th Avenue at 6PM for the launch of our new FEED/READ 3 bag - the perfect, back-to-school tote!

Monday, August 24, 2009

Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food

Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food

GREAT article about the hidden negative externalities of our food system. READ IT.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

FEED 1 Bag on ONE.org

We are thrilled to announce the launch of the FEED 1 bags on ONE.org.

To celebrate the power of ONE and FEED 1 working together, we wrote a posting for the One.org blog. Check it out!!!!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Laughing Pizza Concert on Saturday to support the FEED Foundation! Come out and join us!


Come out and join us on Saturday, August 15th from 3:30PM - 5:00Pm at the Southampton Cultural Center’s Levitas Center for the Arts! FEED and TeddyShare has teamed up with Laughing Pizza, a popular family band who will be performing some fabulous tunes, and Dylan's Candy Bar to ensure fun for everyone! The first 200 in attendance will receive gift boxes for a free pound of candy at Dylan's - yum! Our FEED bears, Plumpy and Nut, will also be on sale, as well as our FEED 1 bag!

Tickets are $7 for children and $10 for adults - all proceeds will support the FEED Foundation.

Southampton Cultural Center’s Levitas Center for the Arts
25 Pond Lane, Southampton
August 15, 2009
3:30pm-5:00pm

We hope to see you there!

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Quail Hill Farm Orchard Dinner


Last weekend, I had the best dinner ever... It was at Quail Hill Farm in Amagansett, NY.  My favorite farmer friend, Scott Chaskey (pictured to the right with Snook from the show "Its a Big Big World"), invited my boyfriend and I to pay him a visit and learn more about his farm.  We showed up not knowing what to expect, and saw people of all ages unloading their cars with pots and containers, foldable chairs, guitars, and more.  And as we approached the orchard where people were gathering, it was clear that we had come upon a pot luck dinner.  The embarrassment of not having brought anything to the table (literally) was short lived, as everyone was so friendly and warm.  The people in attendance, like Scott, are members of the Peconic Land Trust- many of them farmers themselves.  It was a beautiful sight... there was a large table of organic, homemade dishes, as well as local wine, a banjo player and his quartet, and loads of cute kids running around.  Something magical seems to happen when good food is shared among a good community of people, and I was thrilled to experience it at Quail Hill Farm!

The Peconic Land Trust works to conserve Long Island's working farms and natural land, and for more information about that visit: www.peconiclandtrust.org.

And for more information about Northeast Organic Farming Association of NY, which Scott Chaskey- the organic farming guru and all around amazing person- is President of, please visit:
www.nofany.org.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

G8 Summit Announces $15 Billion in Aid to Farmers

The NY Times announced this morning that the world’s leading powers will contribute $15 billion in money and supplies to help millions of the world’s poorest farmers grow enough food to feed themselves. Since a large proportion of the world's poorest people work as subsistence farmers, this initative will enable starving people to grow their own food, rather than depend on shipments of U.S. crops during famines.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/world/europe/09food.html

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

G8 First Wives to Meet with WFP

On the agenda at the G8 summit in Italy this week is climate change, the global financial crisis, and food security! According to the UK's Telegraph, Silvio Berlusconi, Italian Prime Minister and the G8 host, has promised cash worth up to £9 billion ($15 billion) to help develop agriculture in poor countries. Moreover, the wives of the G8 leaders will go to a presentation organised by the World Food Programme on the role of women in fighting hunger in the developing world! 

Here are the links to full articles!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/g8/5776739/G8-summit-what-is-at-stake.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/g8/5777689/G8-summit-wives-have-busy-schedule.html


Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Adios, Au Revoir, Auf Wiedersehen...

Sadly, today is my last day as an official member of Team FEED.  It has been a pleasure to work with FEED for the last year (and a few months) and I have learned a great deal in my time here.

In signing off, I wish FEED the very best of luck in the future.  I hope the company continues to provide support and raise awareness around the issues of child hunger and malnutrition both domestically and around the world.  

I'll be working towards my law degree and hopefully can help FEED in a different capacity in the future...

Very sincerely,

Colleen Riley

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Thank you Team FEED!!



Though I have been a diligent member of Team FEED for over a year now, until yesterday I was unaware of the sneaky skills that the rest of my co-workers possess...

I was informed that I needed to stay late at the office due to a meeting for an upcoming project, which put quite the dent in my plans for the evening.  Around 6pm I answered the door expecting to find our business contacts and instead found a dozen of my closest friends from NYC...FEED had planned a surprise shindig to celebrate my time at the company.  I was indeed very surprised and quite confused but we celebrated with some pulled pork, cervezas, and great company.  :)

A big thank you to the ladies at FEED, Kevin, Gwenn, and everyone for coming!  I had so much fun and that was an incredibly thoughtful thing to do.  Some highlights of the evening below...

 


  


Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Introductions

Kathryn here! My second day at FEED Projects and I'll be working here for the next 9 weeks. I'm so excited to get going...what is better than an internship that combines Africa, poverty alleviation, food, fashion, New York, and a great office culture?! I am currently pursuing my MBA at HBS and spent last summer in Ghana working at startup that provides business training to entrepreneurs seeking microfinance loans.  My work at FEED will focus on launching three new products to become available in the next year. More soon...

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Photos from FEED 2 Kenya launch party at Bergdorf Goodman

The FEED 2 Kenya Bag launched with a bang at Bergdorf Goodman on Tuesday!! Along with a great display on the 1st Floor and 5th Floor, there is a beautiful window on 5th Ave!! FEED is FANCY.

Check out some of the party pics HERE!!

Monday, June 15, 2009

FEED 2 Kenya launches at Bergdorf Goodman!


FEED on Fifth Ave!!
If you are in NYC, please rsvp to our Bergdorf Goodman launch event.
event@bergdorfgoodman.com

Check out the latest in the FEED stable, the FEED 2 Kenya bag which will FEED 2 children in Kenya for 1 year.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Drew Barrymore FEEDs

About a month ago, we were in LA for the Milken Conference, and had a chance to meet Drew Barrymore, who is a Hunger Ambassador for the UN World Food Program.  She hosted a talk at CAA with the Executive Director of WFP, Josette Sheeran.  They are both such amazing and dynamic women, and were able to articulate the plight of world hunger through their personal experiences working with WFP.

During the talk, the youngest member of the audience, a boy maybe 13 years old, raised his hand and asked what he could do to help in the fight against world hunger.  This small event later inspired a Huffington Post article, which also mentions FEED!  Thanks Drew! 

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Whole Foods Windows!


A while back, Whole Foods NYC tweet'd @FEEDProjects letting us know that they were displaying ensembles made of the FEED bags in their windows - created by some extremely talented FIT students - & yesterday we finally got to see them! They were AMAZING. We were so taken back by their creativity, and we are extremely honored that they did such a thing for FEED. Check out the photos!


Monday, May 18, 2009

Ruhiira, Uganda 2009

Ellen and Dr. Jot, the Millennium Villages Community Health Work Advisor









Water is taken from the stream, requiring three separate purification processes



Ellen and a cutie
















Ellen and her new friends

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Uganda!

Lauren and I have been visiting Ruhiira, Uganda as the first Millennium Village Community Health Workers start using their ultra-cool and functional FEED Health/MV Backpacks!  We have been thrilled to drive through the rural highlands of Southern Uganda and come upon Doreen, a Community Health Worker visiting her patients, ready with all her supplies in her backpack.  Can't wait to upload the photos because this part of the world is amazingly picturesque!

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Colleen's 1 Year Anniversary!!!



We can't believe it, but Colleen, our first employee had her 1-year anniversary today!
She has been an invaluable member of Team FEED and we are going to be sorry to send her up to Boston in a few months to attend Harvard Law School.
We celebrated in style with Veuve Cliquot, Magnolia cupcakes and, of course, flowers for the guest of honor!  



Thursday, April 23, 2009

Team FEED, FEEDing NY Neighbors on Earth Day

Yesterday, Lauren and I joined the Polo Ralph Lauren volunteer team at the outstanding NYC organization, God's Love We Deliver.

Armed with aprons, knives, and baking sheets, we helped prepare nutritious meals for terminally ill New Yorkers who enjoyed a healthy meal with some added FEED love for Earth Day.   We love the organization's focus on high-quality, fresh ingredients, which are so needed for those with serious illnesses and are often so hard to come by.  God's Love We Deliver proves that you can provide truly healthy food to people in need, if you add a little volunteer love!   

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Happy Earth Day!

Everyone here at FEED wants to wish all of our supporters a very happy Earth Day!  We hope you choose to celebrate this exciting holiday by doing something eco-friendly, whether that is bringing your own coffee cup to work, planting a tree, walking instead of driving, or... using your FEED bag instead of accepting paper or plastic at the grocery store!

On that note, please check out the link below for a TV segment on reusable bags that highlights the FEED 100 tote.  We can all do our part to take better care of our planet and we hope everyone remembers that small steps when taken in large numbers can really add up to significant change!


Happy Earth Day!


Real Housewives of NY "FEED Corset"

If any of you saw Bravo's "Real Housewives of New York" last night, then you are probably wondering about that FEED corset that Simon Van Kampen bought for his wife, Alex. A while back, Ellen and Lauren were approached by a designer who wanted to create a corset out of the FEED 1 bag. The corset debuted last Earth Day in a fashion show and was auctioned off for the FEED Foundation. Simon's bid reached $7,000 - which, in turn, allowed FEED to provide 350 school children with meals for an entire school year! Team FEED is thankful for Simon's charitable action, and that so many FEED Fans tuned in last night to see the show!

Monday, April 20, 2009

FEED at the Naval Academy

You may think that I went down to Annapolis to hang out with the best and brightest of our country in their cute matching outfits (or uniforms, as some may call them).  See the prom-like photo below with one lucky Naval Officer: 










But, I actually had a greater purpose in my trip- participating in the outstanding Naval Academy Foreign Affairs Conference.  The attendees included Navy midshipmen and students from 40 other universities discussing this year's conference theme of "Combating Global Poverty".  It was inspiring to hear the students, both in and out of the military, discuss solutions for addressing key issues like food (where I was a "Senior Advisor"), water, microfinance, and health.  The keynote speakers, Prof. Nicholas Negroponte, Prof. Paul Collier, and Dr. Paul Farmer, were brilliant and their remarks led to engaging discussions which left me hopeful that young people can and will fix some big global problems in our lifetimes!

Friday, April 17, 2009

Christie Brinkley at NOFA luncheon

Meeting Christie Brinkley at the NOFA luncheon this week was definitely a highlight.  I had seen her before in pictures wearing a FEED, bag but never knew just how big a fan she was (see picture)!  When I said hi to her and thanked her for her support of FEED, she grabbed one handle of the FEED bag I was carrying and slung it around her shoulder where she continued to beem for photographers.  Truly she is one of the most radiant people I have ever meet, inside and out! 

For more information on NOFA (Northeast Organic Farmers Association) check out www.nofa.org, and support our local, organic farmers!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

http://guestofaguest.com/nyc-events/eco-friendly-shoppers-stock-up-on-arm-candy-and-green-goodies/

BagTrends GREEN Party



The GREEN Party lastnight was great! We met a few very cool + very exceptional people, doing their best to change the ways we utilize (& waste) materials. Leen, Lauren and I spoke to a woman, Suzanne Gerber, who writes for a magazine called "Pilates Style". She volunteers her time in the South Bronx teaching school kids yoga (which they love!!). Rachel Sarnoff, who writes the blog "ecostiletto.com", was super sweet & she promised us a mention in one of her future articles. Interestingly enough, we ran into Killy + Michelle from Veev - the organic Acai liquor co. that helped with our Fred Segal launch - & they were great also! The cutest of the bunch were Hannah Gross and Mattie Kahn, co-presidents of Teens Turning Green. They share the Teen Vogue April Issue with our Lauren, & their efforts for going-green have been extraordinary. They recently produced "Project Green Prom" for Whole Foods, which showcased eco-friendly make-up, prom dresses, and hair products. Keep up the amazing work ladies!





Monday, April 13, 2009

This Week...

Tonight Leeny, Lauren & I will be @ BagTrends GREEN Arm Candy Party at the Union Square Ballroom in NYC! If you are in the area, make sure to stop by + check out the FEED table, as well as drink some organic cocktails & get a free massage.
Ellen heads down to Maryland for the Naval Academy Foreign Affairs 2009 Conference tonite! She is Chair of the FOOD committee (good job Ells!), & she is super excited.
The FEED team is loving the NYC sunshine & the warm days ahead :)

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Summit Series Spontaneous Fundraiser

Lauren and I attended the very inspiring Summit Series meeting in Aspen last weekend. We were lucky enough to be invited to present our story of FEED to the illustrious group of young entrepreneurs, along side Invisible Children (an awesome effort to end the abduction of child into armies of Uganda) and Grassroots Soccer (an awesome effort to use soccer to teach kids about AIDS in southern Africa).

The 3 humanitarian groups were blown away by a spontaneous drive among our fellow young entrepreneurs, led by Ryan Allis, founder of iContact, to raise over $50,000 for our causes.

Thank you SO much, Summit Series!  YOUNG PEOPLE HAVE POWER!

the Food Crisis is Not Over

Just saw a Reuters article in the NYTimes about how cash donations for food purchases by the UN World Food Program are still in great need, despite the recent decrease in food prices.  

FEED is proud to be the 4th largest cash donor to the UN World Food Program this year! Thanks to all of our customers for making this possible and please keep spreading the word about FEED so we can continue to provide essential school meals to the worlds hungriest children!!!

Thursday, April 2, 2009

KoGS+FEED Event: Artists for Humanity

A big Thank You to all New Yorkers who came out in the rain lastnight to party with us @ the King of Greene St. store in Soho :)  KoGS's owners, Tom & Albert Hong, threw FEED one of the loveliest events we have ever had.  In addition to the large crowd, beautiful store space, DJ & Bulldog Gin - FEED 2 bags, that were painted by several exceptionally talented students involved in the Boston-based Artists for Humanity - were auctioned off to raise $ for both our organizations.  Lauren managed to snag a beautiful bag herself!


Thank you!


Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Friday, March 27, 2009

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

FEED launches at Fred Segal Trend in LA!


Happy news friends, FEED bags are now being sold at Fred Segal Trend in LA!  Ellen and I made the sunny trek to the west coast 2 weeks ago to help in the festivities.  Daniel (pictured to the left wearing the blue shirt) owns and runs Fred Segal Trend, and after seeing the bags got behind FEED in a big way! And VeeV sponsored the liquor.  VeeV is made from Acia berries, so it is delicious and feels healthier than the normal cocktail!  Thanks VeeV! So it was light cocktails, a DJ (turned bongo player, surprisingly), good friends, and of course, FEED bags!  
Check us out at Fred Segal Trend- www.fredsegaltrend.com

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Lauren & Ellen @ Lehigh!


Hi all :)

So last wednesday, March 11th, Lauren and Ellen were asked by Lehigh University to give a talk during Gus Gustafson's Leadership seminar (Professor Gustafson is awesome!).  Dr. Zimmers kindly gave an introduction, & the girls followed by speaking about their experience beginning and growing FEED.  As many of you know, starting their FEED business was not an easy task.  The girls poured their sweat and tears into the business to make it happen, and they have been working hard every step of the way.  I took some photos of the girls during their speech, as well as some Q&A by the very awesome Lehigh students.  

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Old Friends=Blog Friends

My college friend turned fabulous author/blogger/beauty guru, Nadine, wrote a nice piece on her blog talking up our cause AND our March 12th FEED Launch party in LA.
Check it out at JolieNadine.com 

She is also having a very cool giveaway of beauty products for the reader who finds the most interesting FEED fact from our website.  Go for it!!!

Monday, March 2, 2009

Columbia FEED Club at Campo!

This weekend the Columbia/Barnard College Student FEED Club held a fundraiser at Campo in New York City.  Not only was this event very well attended, but the FEED Club raised over $700 for a local soup kitchen!

We will post pictures soon, but until then, we hope other student FEEDers will take this idea and bring it to their campus!  The event had a 70s theme with very groovy decorations hung around the bar.  The Columbia FEEDers set up a table by the door to collect a $5 donation that also allowed people to get great deals on drinks.  Over 200 people attended the Campo event!  

We want to extend a big thank you to the Columbia FEED Club for all their hard work and fundraising efforts!  

Thursday, February 26, 2009

NY Times Shout-out :)

http://themoment.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/25/nyfw-rewind-all-the-way-with-da/?scp=1&sq=lauren%20bush&st=cse

Dancing and D&A

Hi there, look at those shiny, happy FEED faces!  This picture is from last fall, but it is one of my favorites.  It was taken at a Columbia/Barnard FEED student club event.  My sister, Ashley, is heading up the club.  They organized an awesome dance-off, with proper American Idol style judges. The dance groups were awesome, and although I personally voted for a swing couple that did not win, this awesome hip-hop jazz group won (see picture to the left).  Anyway, they were able to raise lots of money for FEED and have lots of fun doing it!

And in other news... as you have already heard from my fellow FEEDers, we participated at the D&A show this past weekend, and were able to meet to lots of neat store buyers from around the world.  And one of the items we previewed was the FEED Bear, which is coming in time for Mother's Day! Go FEED!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

D&A...



hi guys!!

so this past weekend the girls & i set-up shop at "designers & agents", which was quite fun! basically all these up & coming designers get the chance to showcase their stuff to buyers and press. we were lucky enough to showcase for free, thanks to Meryl and Barbara. between explaining our cause, selling bags, meeting foreigners & gushing to India Hicks how amazing she is - i am so glad that FEED was given this opportunity. i look forward to our next show :)