Which Lauren Is It?
By Caryl Wilhoite
What word most accurately describes
Lauren Bush Lauren, the guest speaker for
The League Club’s February 24 fundraising
luncheon, sponsored by Northern Trust?
Well, it depends upon who you are: to a
hungry child, she’s a godsend; to a college
student, inspirer; to the Fashion Group
International, humanitarian; to David and
James Lauren, wife and mother; to the
cover editor of Vogue, model; to advocates
of social change, activist; to the Small
Business Administration, entrepreneur.
Although born into a family of privilege and prestige, Lauren Bush chose not to follow a comfortable
society life, but rather to focus on generating social change. In college, she traveled as a student
spokesperson for the World Food Programme and saw for herself the effects of hunger on the children as
well as on their families and extended community. From Southeast Asia, through Africa and into Central
America, she visited communities stifled by their inability to feed their populations, but she saw a glimmer of
hope: nutritious school lunches. These meals could satisfy both the hunger for food and for knowledge by
being distributed to each child who attended school – an incentive to or reward for attendance.
Eyes opened, Lauren blended her skills in visual design with her determination to fight against world
hunger in a meaningful way. She conceived of the first FEED bag in her college dorm at Princeton as a way to
alert her peers to the problem. Rather than seeking checks, she chose to provide her contributors with a
tangible product—a reminder as it would be—a burlap tote stamped with the number of meals the purchase
would provide. The success of her FEED 1 bag demonstrated her acumen as a businesswoman, her
dedication to social change and her skills as a spokesperson for the nagging problem of hunger around the
world. Now CEO of FEED and its not-for-profit foundation, she has expanded her reach to include a variety of
nutritional programs, vitamin supplements and relationships with other businesses that could fight
malnutrition as FEED does.
Lauren Bush has received numerous humanitarian awards for her work and words eschewing poverty
and hunger. Now married to David Lauren (yes, son of Ralph), Lauren Bush Lauren has connected her
customers to her cause: to “go into the world and do good.” At TLC’s February luncheon, her inspiring
message is bound to enthrall us all, as this 32-year old describes her journey from student ambassador to
dedicated activist.
Once you hear her presentation, you’ll be able to answer the question: Which word best describes
the fascinating Lauren Bush Lauren—godsend, inspirer, humanitarian, wife and mother, model, activist,
entrepreneur?
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Fashion, Food, FEED
Over the years, FEED has collaborated with many businesses and organizations to fight hunger both in our
country and abroad. Many promotions are limited editions, including the FEED NYC bag, produced to aid
victims of Hurricane Sandy. Other partnerships include the following:
TARGET –Target came together with Lauren to bring a “life-style” collection of 50 FEED USA products for its
customers including apparel, accessories, stationery and sporting goods. Combining fashion with food for the hungry
meant marrying an “innovative design collaboration to long term community programs.” Target‘s limited edition
collection benefitted Feeding America, our nation‘s leading domestic hunger relief charity.
CLARINS - In a promotion that celebrated the fifth anniversary of FEED, Clarins created pouches for their cosmetics.
They promoted the mantra “FEED your skin, FEED your soul, 1 pouch = 10 meals.“
TORY BURCH - In combination with Holt Renfrew, Tory Burch created a limited edition bag adorned with a choice of 4
different colorful straps. Selling out all the bags meant a $50,000 donation to FEED, the approximate equivalent of
half a million school lunches.
WHOLE FOODS – Hoping to encourage shoppers to reuse their bags, Whole Foods designed the FEED 100 shopping
bag. Proceeds went to the UN’s World Food Programme and provided millions of school meals to children.
WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME – Of the 809 million people who are hungry, WFP reaches 80 million of them in 75
countries with food assistance. Lauren’s early connection to this organization has continued with the common goal of
food to meet immediate physical needs and overcome possible future problems with overall health.
FEEDING AMERICA – Working in partnership with Feeding America, the sale of Lauren’s consumer products –jewelry,
accessories, pouches and the like – has served the larger goals of both groups. For example, Lauren’s first design-the
Feed 1 bag- provides school lunches to 1 child at school for 1 whole year. Every purchase provides a significant donation that in turn is turned into food for the underprivileged. Our own Harry Chapin Food Bank in SWFL is affiliated
with Feeding America.
TOMS’ SHOES-With the purchase of every pair of Toms’ classic slip-on shoes, made of burlap with the FEED logo
emblazoned all over them, Toms’ Shoes donated 12 school meals and one pair of new shoes to a child in need.
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