Every Day Action: Tackling Hunger and Food Waste with Hillary Cohen and Samantha Luu on The Passionistas Project

In this episode of the Passionistas Project, sisters Amy and Nancy Harrington speak with Hillary Cohen and Samantha Luu, founders of Every Day Action, which reclaims Hollywood's unused catered meals and redistributes them to underserved communities in Los Angeles. Cohen and Luu share their journeys into the entertainment industry and their deep-rooted passion for humanitarian efforts, cultivated from childhood influences. They address challenges, celebrate successes, and emphasize the importance of creating supportive female communities. Throughout the discussion, they explore obstacles faced while navigating industry red tape and their vision for the organization's future.

Listen to the full episode HERE.

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ON THIS EPISODE

[00:19] Hillary Cohen and Samantha Luu on what they are most passionate about

[01:45] Hillary Cohen and Samantha Luu on their early Influences and childhood lessons

[04:20] Hillary Cohen and Samantha Luu on their journey into the entertainment industry

[07:10] Hillary Cohen and Samantha Luu on the challenges of being women in Hollywood

[12:07] Hillary Cohen and Samantha Luu on the birth of Every Day Action

[16:27] Hillary Cohen and Samantha Luu on navigating legal and industry hurdles

[22:51] Hillary Cohen and Samantha Luu on how Every Day Action operates

[25:26] Hillary Cohen and Samantha Luu on community support and future plans

[25:50] Hillary Cohen and Samantha Luu on starting the business journey

[26:28] Hillary Cohen and Samantha Luu on support from Carrie Murray and the BRA network

[29:07] Hillary Cohen and Samantha Luu on volunteer and team dynamics

[31:23] Hillary Cohen and Samantha Luu on Thanksgiving initiatives and growth

[35:19] Hillary Cohen and Samantha Luu on the impact of LA fires and community support

[37:17] Hillary Cohen and Samantha Luu on how to get involved and support Every Day Action

[42:59] Hillary Cohen and Samantha Luu on the future vision and personal reflections

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Passionistas: Hi, we're sisters, Amy and Nancy Harrington, the founders of the Passionistas Project, an inclusive sisterhood where women find support, purpose, and empowerment. Each episode we share stories of passion driven women breaking barriers and redefining success. Today we're chatting with Hillary Cohen and Samantha Luu, the powerhouse duo behind Every Day Action, who are turning Hollywood's leftover meals into a lifeline for LA's underserved communities.

So we are so excited to have you here today and to spread the word about all the amazing work you're doing. And we want to start by asking you each, what are you most passionate about?

Hillary: Oh boy. Well, I mean, uh, here it's about, um, ending hunger in Los Angeles. Um, you know, I, um, I know Sam also feels this too, is that, um, no one in America should be hungry.

We have plenty of resources. So personally, I'm most passionate about solving that problem. On a national scale, because it just doesn't make any sense.

Samantha: Absolutely. And our, uh, you know, to add on more specifically for Every Day Action, our big passion, uh, where we started, it starts with our roots in the entertainment industry, and we are passionate about changing the way the entertainment industry looks at food waste and also looks at, you know, using their resources for good and putting it back into the very, uh, industry that's they're a part of.

Passionistas: So let's take a giant step back for a second because it seems like you both also just have this deep seated. Um, Willy, like, desire to give back. So, where does that come from in your childhoods growing up? Were you taught when you were young to be of service to people? And tell us a bit more about what your childhoods were like.

Hillary: Um, my mom has certainly set that example to me as a young age. I was definitely dragged to every soup kitchen I could imagine. Actually, I have a big aversion to ketchup because when I was five, My job at the soup kitchen was to put the ketchup bowls on the table and after like carrying these bowls of ketchup around it's like I don't know how that all started, but, um, my mom always, um, gave, um, and taught me to do that, like, when we would travel, like, you know, keep every toiletry item, like, you can't have that, you don't need that, like, take take whatever the little you need and give, give, give, um, she's also a nurse and my dad is a pharmacist who's also someone who's also taught me how to give my whole life, so my parents are people who really kind of always told me and taught me that, um, and to put others first, I was always Put into schools or systems and things that were very different that were not people that looked like me or, you know, people of all different backgrounds.

And I think that really did open my eyes up to like lots of different experiences. And then as a grown up, you know, living in Los Angeles, I think it's something that you just can't ignore. Um, but yeah, my parents are definitely people who taught me at a young age, um, that you should put others first.

Samantha: Yeah, same for me. I, um, you know, my dad is a Vietnamese immigrant. So, um, he just comes from a culture of not wasting. I grew up not wasting, uh, a single bite of food and, uh, other items as well, and always learning how to reuse things. So I really sort of grew up accidentally a bit sustainable. Uh, and then also living here in Los Angeles and coming to a big city, you know, and not having much to eat and being food insecure, insecure myself when I first came here.

Uh, just understanding what that's like a bit. Um, and it's, you know, it's a city of millions, and it can also feel really lonely, and, uh, you know, I just, I was, I was raised in a culture that food is the way you show love, and, uh, it's community and friendship, and it's how you can easily start a conversation and bridge a gap, so, um, I just, you know, I grew up around that, and my father also, for many years, uh, in our community, he started He's one of the founding members of a local soup kitchen and was really active, you know, every week we would go and deliver meals.

So it just really sort of always carried over and was something. It was really in the back of my mind, you know, when I first, uh, came out here because I was also hungry.

Passionistas: So tell us about your individual paths to, uh, the entertainment industry and what you did.

Hillary: Um, I mean, working in the entertainment business is something I've always wanted to do.

I saw a production of Charlotte's Web when I was five and, like, wanted to be an actress my whole life. And then when I got to college, I double majored in theater and film, um, like set foot on a stage and just had like such anxiety and just really realized that like being in front of the camera was no longer for me and I really enjoyed creating and helping and I, I always call Sam and I high stakes puzzle solvers.

Like I'm really good at uncracking a puzzle and I can like see a system in five minutes and figure out how to make it better. So, um, being an assistant director kind of, you know, found me in that, but I always wanted to be in the business. Um, When I graduated college in Massachusetts, I moved to L. A. I started working at a modeling agency because it was like the first job I got.

Um, I learned a lot of what I, um, don't want to do, though I loved that experience and that it wasn't entirely for me. Um, and then I found, um, luckily got into the DJ training program, um, after first seeing a movie in Massachusetts. First assistant director in a movie. And that kind of started my career and, uh, the rest, I guess, is history.

But, um, it's definitely something that I always wanted and still like there's days of work on, you know, you would get to set and be like, Oh my God, that light is so big or it's snowing in California. Like it always was still magical to me at some point of the day.

Samantha: No, same. I, um, I always wanted to work in TV and film.

It was, you know, it's actually where my name comes from. I'm named after Samantha from Bewitched because my dad learned English by watching TV. So. Uh, it's almost fate that I came out to work in television. Uh, myself, I just came out and started working in the industry right away as a PA and as a non union assistant director.

And then, uh, a few years later, luckily got into the training program and, uh, really started my career from there. And, uh, same, same thing for me. I just, uh, I think we You know, as assistant directors, we are the coordinators of set, right? We're logistics, we're coordination, we're scheduling. Um, we're a lot of customer service too and caretaking.

So, um, I think we were really sort of meant professionally, like prepared to, to do what we do now. It's sort of like, um, an accidental career, uh, side door that we didn't realize we were going to end up in. Uh, but yeah, just, I always found TV and movies magical. That's how. You know, it's where we escaped and, um, yeah, it's been really great to work in and also even greater to find a different path to make a difference in it.

Passionistas: So, when did you guys meet and did being women ADs, assistant directors, Was that, uh, and is that an unusual thing? And was that part of how you were drawn to each other?

Hillary: Um, being a female in the entertainment business is difficult in any, in any profession that you're a part of. So if you're listening and you're in there, keep going.

We see you. We hear you. Um, yeah, it's, uh, definitely something that I think, um, if you're a strong woman who supports women, you bond over. There's certainly, you know, people that aren't that way, and it can be a toxic place, but women who support and champion together, like, do bond. Um, I had been working on the set of N.C.I.S., uh, N.C.I.S. Los Angeles, I think, for about eight seasons. Um, I was a key second AD, Sam was coming in as a second second, and it was a time where I was, like, kind of, I guess, creatively in a rut there. And really wanting, like, just someone who made me laugh and had fun with. And we interviewed Sam via Skype, or, like, Zoom before, like, COVID.

So it was before it was, like, a normal thing to do that. And was hard to, like, get someone's personality through a computer. Um, and boy, did Sam, like, she just, we instantly vibed. And we just kind of became actually best friends, like, really quickly on set. It was, you know, you spend a lot of time with each other more than you do your family.

Um, we travel a lot on our show, so I normally would stay with the second second at a hotel. So it was, like, the first time we were at Long Beach, I was like, hey, you want to share a hotel room? You know, we both were, like, kind of scared about it and had, like, the best time. So we definitely have bonded over that.

And then just, you know, building Every Day Action is something that, you know, that's how we feel as people, right? I think. That's what's most important, like, beyond our work on a film set is, like, how we felt about people and life, and we both see things. Fairly similarly, but different and like compliment each other and like, yeah, finding a best friend who is passionate about, um, you know, being, um, a ball buster when you need to, but also being like super sympathetic and empathetic at the same time is like a special human. And that's definitely, definitely Samuel.

Samantha: Yeah, I think with our, you know, when we met, I was, I had made my career with a day plane. So I just work, you know, a few days here a day there. And, uh, I was really lucky because I stayed really busy. I was actually so busy that we had to do my interview on Skype. I was actually across the street, uh, working and took a, took a break out of my day to interview and I was looking for more of a home at the time I'd sort of been bouncing around.

And while that was really fun, uh, I just kind of needed sort of a more family setting and I got it. at the show. And, you know, we really sort of hit it off as friends. And then, uh, you know, with lockdown, we really sort of saw that it was a chance to make a difference. And we aligned in that way. And, um, I just, I'm not sure, I'm not sure that it's possible really in the long term to, to do it oneself.

You always need some sort of partnership. You know, we've seen. Many other smaller non, uh, nonprofit, you know, grassroots orgs that have sadly folded or just, you know, not been able to move on because it's just been that one singular person. And this is definitely not. a mission that takes a singular person.

It definitely takes, um, a partnership and a friendship and, you know, real, uh, you know, just real true like coordinators and, and friends on top of it. We, we do everything and this organization together. And, uh, I think because we worked well together already professionally, you know, in the entertainment business, this sort of just, uh, was a really easy segue.

Hillary: And it really helps us, I think, you know, have difficult conversations like Sam and I have such a solid friend base, like, obviously, there's times in every action where we have really disagreed, there's been times where, you know, one of us has done more or less, and we've worked through that entirely together as a team.

And like, I just feel like it's made us stronger, because we're really focused on our mission and our work. And that's like the most important to Sam and I. So it's like, we have this friend base, I think that has allowed for us to grow things, um, you know, more organically, and more like how we really want it to be.

Samantha: Yeah, absolutely. You know, behind the scenes, we've been through so much, you know, in our first year of being open, you know, I lost my brother, I lost my only brother, um, just a few months after we first started. So, you know, we've been through, we've both lost a lot of, we've had a lot of personal loss on both ends, um, as well as, you know, uh, health issues that I've dealt with.

We've, you know, we've sort of run the gamut of, and then, you know, of course, uh, local, um, you know, uh, wildfires and emergencies, you know, no big, we've, uh, we feel like we've really run the gamut of that. And I don't think. Uh, it's possible to keep going through if you don't have a really solid, uh, base together.

Passionistas: Yeah. I'm so sorry, first of all, to hear about your brother. I can't even imagine that. And, uh, you guys are proof of the power of sisterhood, right? Um, so tell us about what inspired. Uh, Every Day Action. Why did you start it?

Hillary: Sure. So, um, I mean, really, from my very first day in a film set, I went from an independent world of making a movie in Massachusetts to being on a set of private practice.

I remember the actor on this movie, Kurt Fuller, explained to me what an AC hose was. And I could not understand the concept. I was like, what do you mean they, like, paid a hose AC and, and, like, fast forward to 10 years of my career, like, where's the AC hose? You know, so I, showing up to the set of private practice was, like, really insane.

I always, it was something I dreamed of doing so, you know, being 22 years old from the age of five, it really did feel like, holy cow, this is nuts. You know, I was petrified of being late so I really, there's a 400 day training program, I would go every day two hours early and sleep in my car in a sleeping bag because I was so afraid of oversleeping and I also have insomnia so it kind of worked out.

Um, so I would go really early and sleep and I would, you know, obviously be so the first, you know, few months, everything was so magical so, like, watching the truck spark was fun so I would I would watch the truck spark and it was upsetting because it was You know, in Skid Row, or everywhere in Los Angeles, um, that has, you know, unhoused.

And it would, it was like we would just, like, crumble past them, and then set up this, like, magical circus of nonsense and amazement of all this excess, and then leave. And we would have the excess that day, you know, like, there would be extra catering, there would be extra food, and when I asked, like, I remember this day, I was, like, this stupid, like, oh, I'm so excited, I'm gonna donate all the food, and it was, like, Nails in a chalkboard, like, it all went into the trash, and I was like, oh, Noah, what are you doing, you know?

And they're like, oh, this is illegal. I'm like, oh, yeah, that makes sense. This is illegal. Okay, I gotta go back to work. And then, like, I don't know, after a decade, it was just, like, this one day that I was like, why would this be illegal? This is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. And I just, like, started to go down this rabbit hole of, like, what?

And then thinking about it as like Grubhub, right? So Grubhub exists when you order food, does a someone come to your house and examine the temperature with which it has been delivered and the time at which it was traveled and who prepared it and all of that nonsense? No, it's not. You pay for it, it gets delivered, you enjoy your food and you might get sick, you might not, that's your choice.

But people who don't have choice aren't given that option. There's all of a sudden all these requirements, which is just insane. But Sam and I are high stakes puzzle solvers, so I just had this idea because I also spent a ton of time on a film set watching production assistants and background artists and many others in the business.

The pay scale just so drastically different and, like, watching people that were my friends, my co-workers, not be able to live in their houses while coming to work and not be able to find other employment, you know, was really difficult, especially as I moved up and was able to support myself and those people weren't.

And it was so frustrating to be in that environment. So I wanted to create a system where production assistants and background artists somehow got paid money to reallocate this food to then people in need across in my 90 mile area of outreach. And it was like this whole thing. I started, you know, thought up really on that day, but just never put it together.

And then COVID like hit this stop, right? I had time to think about things longer, I had time to do stuff I was already Selling masks, which is, like, a whole nother long story we don't have to get into but during that, um, you know, Sankyo at my house, it was, like, the very first friend I invited over, we were, like, across the yard.

I had I was she was modeling my new drinking mask so you could have a straw through it with, like, a plastic. It was gonna be the new cocktail mask, like, what? That nonsense. Anyways, we had such a great time. My sister in law, Carrie Murray, was there who's, like, such a big part of also starting Every Day Action and Um, we just talked about it and, you know, I knew that I needed someone just like I described, like, someone who is insanely skilled in solving problems, who cares about people, who understands me.

It's, like, there just needed to be Sam, like, I just knew it was Sam. I really thought about this person long and hard. It makes me emotional because, like, we did build this plane and fly it together. She is so cool and, yeah.

Passionistas: This is why we love Hillary. We bonded over being sensitive. First of all, I think the drink straw mask is genius.

And I don't, I think that could fund Every Day Action. And you should take it to Shark Tank. We're going to need them again. I can just feel it. God forbid. Um, so, so you were, you had this idea and you, We're hitting this wall of like, no, it's illegal. So how did you push through that? And how far up the chain in the entertainment industry did you have to take that? Cause red tape in the industry for anybody who hasn't worked in it can be insane. So what? Did you have to go through to make this happen?

Samantha: Well, the, the truth is it's not illegal. It hasn't been legal for many years, thanks to the, uh, Good Samaritan Act, the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act. It's also been ratified recently, so it includes even more, um, you know, uh, area of like coverage and it's, yeah, it's just, it's not been illegal for a really long time.

It's something that Um, is something that most companies don't want to take the liability responsibility. So for us, when we realized it wasn't illegal, then we just knew right away what we needed to do because we work in entertainment. So we knew liability is what it's all about. And luckily, most studios actually have donation agreement forms.

It just wasn't something that they had signed over very easily. And we knew right away that that's what we needed. So One of our first things that we set up was a liability policy that's custom to, um, our needs. And yeah, we, we really got our yeses that way pretty easily. Um, you know, anytime you're like, I will take all the responsibility.

It's all off you studios. They were super happy to add in, uh, extra clauses to put more blame on us. And we were, we'll, we'll take it. You know, when we looked at it, we. One of the first questions we asked was, um, you know, the truth is anyone can sue us and, and anyone can sue anyone for anything. And is this worth it?

And without hesitation, we both said yes, it is. There's Just no world there. It wouldn't be. And we knew with COVID at the time that the food would be prepared and handled even more safely than before. So there really wasn't a better time to sort of jump in this, uh, in this way and kind of, uh, show firsthand to studios like, Hey, we can do this.

This is possible. We can do this safely and responsibly and, uh, We'll take all the liability you want and just let us, uh, let us take your trash. Don't ask where it comes from. Just let us take your trash. We will give it to those who, uh, who need it.

Hillary: But yeah, Sam, you know, we had experience in the business.

So, um, to work on a film set, you have to fill out, start paperwork. That's like the size of a CVS receipt. It just kind of like folds out and they want to know, like, I'm surprised you need a fingerprint. So it's like, we just knew for people to let us pick up the trash that we needed to have the same sort of paperwork.

system in place so that they felt that we weren't coming after their protected bubble of the film set. We just want their trash. Like we always say, we don't care about Barnes Corsese, we just want your mashed potatoes. You know, it's just thinking about that differently. Um, and then we were like, okay, we need to have a board.

Um, I remember Um, Carrie's saying, I'll be on your board and I went home and I was like, what's a board? You know, so we, we put together a board and we knew it needed to be people that were in the business that also could help spread the cause, right? Who had Instagram accounts that could help us, that worked on film sets, that were directors, actors, all those things.

So, you know, we had a Rolodex, so did they. So all of us went on a Rolodex, we told every person we knew, hey, we have this thing. Sam and I were working on NCIS LA, Scott Gimmel, who's been a long time You know, support of Every Day Action was a showrunner at that time. Absolutely. Signed us on was our very first our second show.

Actually, Good Trouble was our first show that we got with Troy and Bella Sario, who's one of our founding board members, who is a star and or sorry, a director of that show. And so Good Trouble and every day and say yes to labor kind of the first two shows that like, you know, we're gonna do it. And it was like after that.

So like a third show called me and Sam were like, how'd you get this phone number? You know, and it just it quickly changed from me and Sam having zoom calls of convincing people. to let us do it, to then asking us to do it. So that went from, you know, this little thing to us now working with Netflix, we work with, uh, Disney really exclusively, all the NCISs are a big fan of Every Day Action, you know.

Really, every it's really sad because film production is changing in Los Angeles so drastically. We pretty much have every production right now, which is about eight, which is It's very scary. Um, but, you know, we are still picking up from all those sets and that's really how it grew, was proving concept and then showing it was so easy.

And then it's it's Sam and I, right? We both logistically handled all the logistics of it. We make call sheets for a living. We know how to read them. So we just get them in your distro. We put together details. We then put it back to a map that's very close. To traveling and again, Sam and I travel with the circus.

So we're aware that going to Santa Clarita one day and then going to Long Beach the next day and then going back to downtown. That's not weird for me and Sam. That's a, that's a normal day. So our team really functions like a production company, which is why I think we've been so successful at working with production companies is we've always operated from that AD mentality also in terms of like how Every Day Action operates.

Samantha: Yeah. In addition to that, our driver program, you know, our industry driver program is actually drivers from the entertainment industry, who have been PAs, who have been crew members, who have been background actors. We started with just PAs and background actors, and then we had to sort of shift out further to crew members with, um, having the strikes and having the slowdown.

And so we were able to actually be a part of a set and just be in and out and really stealthy because we are drivers. Understand how to be around a set. There's a certain protocol, you know, there's, there's a certain way you even read the location map and that specialized skill is something that we really felt like was a smart way to sort of also drive a program to sort of get back into, you know, within our own community as well.

So, you know, uh, for us, we, yeah, we just realized that, uh, our specialized skill as well as understanding how to navigate, you know, sets and production offices and And protocols. It just, yeah, it was a really easy progression for us.

Passionistas: So let's take a step back and describe to everyone what the program is, how it works, because you've been talking about partnering with the sets.

So tell everyone what, what, what exactly that means and what you do once you leave the set.

Hillary: So we reallocate food from them and TV sets, corporate events, grocery stores, festivals, really anywhere that serves both gourmet catered food, but we also pick up raw food. We also pick up, you know, McDonald's type foods.

So really. prepared food or food of any kind that is about to be thrown out. That's still edible. So, you know, something that is maybe one day past the best by date, that's still edible. We pick that up and then we deliver it to a network of beneficiaries in need across a 90 mile area of outreach. So we go from Santa Clarita to San Pedro every day, delivering food to people who need it.

And that's people who live in lower income housing shelters, people who are supported by community fridges, the unhoused themselves. And local grassroots non profits that are also doing further efforts to feed those in needs. You know, Sam and I built this map ourselves. We went, you know, from Santa Clarita to San Pedro, calling every non profit and place we could find.

We still onboard new beneficiaries monthly. We still go visit those places. Um, but all of those places, you know, have different hours, different times. And it's just kind of like putting the logistical pieces together. Um, and we're actually sitting right now in, like, the evolution of Every Day Action, so, you know, since founding, like we said, we operate like Grubhub.

We pick it up, we move it to its place. We never have a place to stop. We pick up a lot of food late at night, especially on a Thursday or Friday, because the film set has much later call time on those evenings or afternoons. Um, and then it limits where the food can go because less places are open past eight o'clock.

So this warehouse, um, it's called Operation Bare Bones right now, but FISH is the Food Insecurity Shared Hub, and it's in partnership with several other non profits in Los Angeles. Uh, CELA. DePaul Los Angeles and St. Vincent Meals on Wheels and it's sponsored by the Daughters of Charity and it's going to be a place where we can collectively come together and help more in need both with mutual aid and in food.

They'll have our own little storage units and they'll be eventually a fridge and freezer so we can bring our food here and repackage it.

Passionistas: Amazing. Amazing. Amazing. Um, so you have mentioned the amazing Carrie Murray a couple of times in passing and I want to give her the do she deserves because she has built an amazing community called the broad network and we have been very fortunate to meet a lot of women who are part of that.

Um, how important has, has Carrie's participation been and also just Community in general in making this all happen.

Hillary: I mean, I think Sam can even attest like we had a meeting when we were making masks. So we were, we thought masks were going to fund Every Day Action and sat down with Carrie and she was like, you got to cut one.

You're either making masks or you're starting Every Day Action. You can't do both, you know? And she really expected me to have this like long journey about thinking of that. And I was like, Every Day Action done with masks. And she was like, Oh, all right. Well, let's get started on that, you know, and just has really helped me and Sam, you know, in learning how to grow a business.

Sam and I are really good at, again, solving puzzles, being kind of bossy, but, you know, building a business is something that is new to both me and Sam. You know, I actually, my dad founded, you know, uh, made his own business at the pharmacy group, my life, my whole life. So like watching someone do that was an example, but not.

Some in similar space. So, um, yeah, I left my train of thought for a second...

Samantha: Carrie's just, you know, not only has she been a founding member, she's literally just been a founding human of, you know, as soon as we started, I think she was what our second, uh, you know, zoom call. And she really like sat us down and, um, helped us, you know, navigate just being business owners and also, um, you know, running a board Running events, uh, you know, finding, uh, different donors in different spaces, you know, she and she's also, of course, like brought us into her own.

Space and that's given us so much help as well. We've had so many, uh, different bra members who have helped us, um, you know, build our website, build our branding. So, um, you know, build our first photos. So we've, we've just, we've had so much female, strong female support from her. She's, uh, yeah, she's been a pillar and.

Uh, even to this day, like every, any, any little thing we can just call her and be like, Carrie, help. You know, she is one of our biggest, uh, contributors during Thanksgiving.

Hillary: Oh, her and her daughter come every Thanksgiving. It's insane. Like this year for Thanksgiving, she hosted an entire, I think it was called team taters and peas, or she even had like her own logo.

She got another refrigerator and just like totally showed up like. If there is a human being that has helped Sam and I from day one, it's definitely been Carrie and her entire network, like Sam said, like Stacey Beeman has sent our whole website, Kathy Xu made our photos from like day one, Jen Currier has done like every gala for us, so there's like been so many people in her network that she has brought to us.

That, you know, every action really wouldn't be a part of and I think what she, um, and her network are a part of right now is so important and it's something that, like, especially female in the entertainment business, I think, need to hear and do so much more which is collaborate over competition and the stronger we are together, you know, it's, like, Sam and I are so good at, like, celebrating each other's successes and, like, you know, imposter syndrome, if you believe in that or not, is definitely a real thing.

Sam and I. You know, running our own non profit is something we're still like, do we run our own non profit? Oh, we do. Okay. You know, it's like, you know, she has been such a person of like, you do this, you know, celebrate each other, own it and know about it. So we're just, we are really grateful for Carrie and the Broad Network.

If you're not a part of it, you should be because it's a really great place for a community and, um, a great place to find, you know, just women who are doing great things all over the United States.

Passionistas: Absolutely. Absolutely. So you mentioned your drivers and I want to, um, I want to hear more about your, your team in general.

I know you two are the main people, but, um, how many people are on your team and are they volunteers or how does it all work?

Samantha: Uh, well, so we have a group of volunteers, um, that sort of volunteer in and out, uh, with events and some with driving. We've had a few that are really have been. God, they've been volunteering with driving with us since we first started.

Um, and some are sort of more like seasonal drivers. Um, for our driving program, we have mostly like part time drivers. So they sort of day play like how I built a career day playing and kind of working here and there. A lot of production assistants and background actors and stand ins. They will sort of day play as well, as well as peer members.

So it's really nice to be able to do something for a little, uh, supplemental income that you can kind of supplement on the days that you're not, uh, working with us when we have a slot. And we have a pretty small team of, uh, drivers currently. I think we're around, uh, what is that? Oh, around 10 as well.

Yeah, we kind of fluctuate as well, uh, which is nice because we offer that flexibility. You can get booked in the afternoon and cancel on us and we'll find someone else to drive. Uh, but our, our group are really just stipend drivers. Um, internally we have, uh, one, uh, assistant who also is our outreach coordinator and she does a, a ton of stuff.

Christina actually used to be a former driver for us. And, uh, she is, uh, she's one of our favorite employees, do you want to talk about her?

Hillary: Yeah, Christina is, like, one of our favorite people. She moved to, um, up north, uh, in Seattle area, and, um, you know, just needed another part time job and had a hard time finding one, so we were like, hey, why don't you come continue Helping Every Day Action, because that worked out really well, so, um, she helps us out literally with So much like internally that allows Sam and I to continue to grow every day action, and on top of Christina, we also have our board, you know, all of our board has volunteered from day one, and they really have helped us grow every day action into like such.

a great place and now we're trying to like expand the board into committees and all those volunteers that Sam talked about who've been there since day one are now gonna come up and be, you know, like volunteer coordinators or help run Thanksgiving and our Thanksgiving event, we try to feed as many people in need in the week of Thanksgiving as we can which really started on us founding.

It was like we got to, we started in July then it got to October and I was like, We should do something for Thanksgiving. Like, we're a non profit that feeds people. I don't know what that means but let's try this. So we were like, let's just have people cook food and deliver it to my house and then we'll, like, collect donations and we'll make as much food as we can and, like, let's see how much what we make.

So we got, like, 450 meals and Sam and I went with I with one volunteer, Jim, to Skid Row and literally just passed them out with a photographer and, like, Went with our friend Jack and took all these photos and, like, tried to show, you know, what happens in Skid Row on Thanksgiving which kind of makes it, it's, like, the biggest support it receives on that day and that has taken off from that.

Last year, we did almost 1, 500 meals in a commercial kitchen, like, we tapped out, I think, at 1,000 meals at my kitchen before we had, like, this amazing kitchen from On Kitchen Stoneyden. That is a team of, like, a hundred volunteers because that's people who drive. It's people who donate food, it's people who come to our kitchen and they come clean.

It's such a big effort. So, you know, Every Day Action sometimes is really big and sometimes are really small. It really just depends on what's going on and how funding is going. You know, ideally, once we're fully funded, we'd love to have a team of, like, actually, like, 7 to 10 fully paid drivers a day that are, like, sustained.

We'd love to have, like, a warehouse manager. You know, we'd love to be Have all the things that would be internally supported, but, you know, every non profit never has enough time on your resources, it's just what you do with what you have, so Sam and I, actually, our van is called Lady Ro, because our very first run, which is a very emotional story, but, um, we ended it with saying not today but maybe tomorrow, which has kind of been our whole motto from founding is not today but maybe tomorrow, so she's called Lady Ro, is maybe tomorrow, so Sam and I always say that when things are, like, really crummy, we're like, well, Maybe it won't be this bad tomorrow.

Samantha: Or maybe we can't help today, but maybe we can help tomorrow, you know? Yes. But you know, uh, in addition to those volunteers, we've also had so many, um, colleagues and friends and family who come and help us and give us their skill. Many who are from the industry, Uh, shout out Joe Chena, who has sent our art directing for our gala two years in a row.

And really just, uh, every, every single human who helps us really puts the action in every action. And fellow

Hillary: ADs, like, yes, our fellow AD team and PA team has been so helpful. All of our events are run by ADs and like our gala. Everyone's like. Man, your team's impressive. We have, like, you know, we come in like a film set and it's fun to bring that force to, you know, Every Day Action.

So we are so grateful because there are teams of writers, directors, actors, producers, direct you know, every from the top to the bottom that have been a part of Every Day Action, whether that's in funding it or showing up. To help paint our warehouse and Forgiving their talents. Yes, it would not be possible without, like, this entire community, like you said, which is really what Every Day Action is about, is inspiring people every day to do something for someone else, to build community and to put down your phone and to just go.

Samantha: Yeah, and not just things, you know, everything that you're looking at in our office, including the desks that we're interviewing on and the chairs we're sitting in, it was all, uh, rescued from landfills, so This has been rescued from, uh, different production offices that, uh, we're moving, or TV, uh, shows, or films that we're shutting down, and, uh, instead of these items going into the landfill, they've actually furnished our warehouse space, and we've also been able to share with our warehouse partners.

Passionistas: Fantastic. Amazing. Um, you mentioned Thanksgiving, which is obviously a busy time of year, but there's also just been a lot happening in LA in the last few years with the strikes. But most recently also, this is about a month after the LA fires that we're recording this. So how did those impact you? And did you shift your focus a little bit to help out in that situation?

Hillary: I think it helped it affect everyone who lives in LA, like whether you're business wise or personally. So I think there's no way that you could not be affected by it. Um, the outreach I think was beautiful to see as an organization. We're really focused on like the long term focus of that goal.

You know, it's really beautiful how much Support comes right at the beginning but kind of like when someone dies, right, you get all these flowers and then you get some cards and you get some meals and then by, like, month five, people have moved on. So we're really focused on that day, that time, and trying to build and prepare for when the me the bigger support does leave.

What we did instantly was really try to support individual families in need because that's really what Every Day Action does is support individuals in need so There are many who reached out to us who are suddenly displaced or suddenly in need. Um, I think we're up to our seventh family of supporting just supplies.

We try to collect what their basic list is, get it through all of our social channels. We had, you know, a few funds donated, so trying to get, you know, that collected and then donate a 500 Target gift card along to every family, so we focused on that. Um, unfortunately, you know, our network in need doesn't go away just because of the fire.

So if we suddenly stop serving our network in need, that network, you know, those people no longer get those meals. And the added support, that's why I said it's so beautiful to watch new organizations and new things come out of this, out of disaster relief. So we are focused on the individual, we are focused on feeding those in need, but we are also focused on supporting our continued network because those people also still need the support on a daily basis.

Passionistas: So, um, how can people, organizations reach out to you to either get support or to provide support?

Hillary: Sure. So we always are looking for new beneficiaries in need. So if you're in Los Angeles and you're, you know, a nonprofit or organization that's serving food that's in need of meals. I always tell people we're hard to support because we're not predictable, right?

We reallocate what is left over, so we can't say, yes, we're gonna provide you 700 sandwiches on Tuesday because we don't make the food, we just reallocate. Can't call Chef Bob and say, hey, Bob, make me sandwiches. So that is difficult, but if you're able to give us, you know, your normal schedule, if you have a refrigerator or a time where you're normally serving, we can certainly put you on our map and support you when we're equal.

I don't know if you want to talk more about No. Okay. And then, um, and there's people coming in and out of our warehouse today, so it's like, oh, hello, um, and then clients coming in, you know, we always want to pick more food up, especially right now because film production is scarce and we can pick up, you know, as much or as little food as available.

Sometimes people ask like, oh, well, first of all, people always assume there's not going to be a lot of waste and that it's always going to be less than it is. So, you know, We understand that you think there's not going to be any, but it usually ends up being more than we think, but also five meals is really important because those are five people that would have gone otherwise without, and since we're already reallocating across this map, chances are we're already in a neighborhood already.

So for us to pick up those five meals on in addition to what we might be already picking up, that does make a lot of impact. So we do come for really any meal. Sam and I have picked up one meal, reallocated that to one person, and that really has made a big impact in that one person's life. So those are clients and then individuals in need.

We do try to support as much as we can. If we're not able to constantly deliver meals to you, we try to provide resources for where you could further, you know, get help and resources. And then if you want to join our reallocator team, we're always looking for reallocators, which are volunteers to help drive.

Um, you get the details from Sammie Lou here, and she works really hard to make sure they're awesome and on time. We'll get them in the morning, and we just need people, you know, it's like up to four hours of your time, but it could be as little of an hour. It really depends on how it goes. Again, it depends on how the drop goes.

Samantha: Yeah, we're at the mercy of production schedules. Nuts. Our timing, but we can guess pretty close,

Hillary: But you know, sometimes you pick up from a Whole Foods and that location is like a standard time. So we're able to work with people and we do need people all across our map. So that's from Santa Clarita to San Pedro and all the neighborhoods in between because anyone in those neighborhoods is helpful because we might have a last minute call in Long Beach while we might be in San Pedro.

So just knowing you're interested in helping food delivery. One day you might be the food superhero. So if you're interested in saving food, please let us know. .

Passionistas: Beautiful. And what else do you guys need? What do you need? Funding What? What can people do to support you?

Hillary: So Every Day Action's in a really big, pivotal year, you know, Sam and I did build this and work two full-time jobs, so this being one of them, and.

This volunteer and the other working on set for, you know, two and a half years of this, almost three years, and then our show got canceled and due to, like, the situation in Los Angeles, have been forced to work at Every Day Action full time, which is something we wanted to do, but Every Day Action is certainly not financially ready for, so this is kind of a make or break year.

You know, we have to raise 600, 000 this year for Every Day Action to sustain. We do feed close to 100, 000 people a year, so to keep up with that, it does require funding. You know, we want our PA and film production driver program to be sustained and provide more than 100 stipend per day, provide an actual daily salary that people can rely on.

You know, we have dreams for growing this across the country because it's so easy. Um, and just helping, um, in Los Angeles, you know, SB 1383 exists, and that is that everywhere has to reallocate their food. So we want to help do that. So we do need help in funding. If you are interested in donating, you can donate on our website, which is youreverydayaction.org. Or if you're interested in helping us get funds, you know, we really need, um, fundraising committee members. We need grant writers. And people who are interested or have experience in finance and investment. That's really what we're trying to do right now is solidify our board to help Every Day Action grow.

You know, Sam and I are really good at like this whole side of it. Running, running all the stuff, picking up all the food, being the spirit of it. But there's like a whole other thing that we just like to do some help with.

Samantha: You can also always volunteer with us in a myriad of different ways. Um, and we have more than just Just the finance committee.

We also have all of our events committees. Thanksgiving has its own committee. We love putting it over there this year. Um, and if, and we always need a support with our gala. So our gala is just a few months away and we will always use any fingertips that want to send a million emails asking for, uh, items for our gala auction.

So, uh, we can all, we can use support in any sort of way, physical or digital. So. Just let us know, write in and find out.

Hillary: Speaking of the gala, it's May 17th at InterCrew. If you want to join, tickets are going to be going on sale in about a few weeks. And there's only about 90 tickets available this year.

So if you've heard what you, all you heard today and you're like, Hey, I want to join those two goofballs out on the gala. May 17th is your day. Stand by for tickets.

Samantha: And our theme is the recycle ball. Or something that, uh, you've worn before or recycle, uh, or something out of recycled materials. So have fun with it.

Passionistas: Excellent. And you mentioned briefly your vision for the future of Every Day Action. So tell us where you see it in a few years. Where do you want it to go?

Hillary: Currently we're sitting in it. Fish is actually like a crazy dream. This warehouse is food insecurity shared hub. You know, we've just got into this brick and mortar space.

We have spent the past six months, like. Re renovating it as a team, the Daughters of Charity have done so much in sponsorship doing the bathrooms, you know, just Saturday we had like 40 people here painting every square inch of it, so it is a really beautiful space, it's something that we're raising money for, once the full fridge and freezer is here, it will be so cool, but like, even Sam and I being able to be in the same box is a dream, because we've always been in our own homes, so like, coming to work every day with your best friend has been like, just kind of the fun The most fun thing, um, to do, um, aside from fish, um, you know, we want to have a food truck one day, um, I see a time where there's a free food truck in Skid Row that we can just pass food out every day, um, and then expanding, you know, Every Day Action should exist anywhere film production is or anywhere where there's major food generators, which is.

Every major city in the United States, it's very easy and we should stop throwing food out. Again, there should be no one that's hungry in America. We have the resources in the United States. It's just not being reallocated properly. So if every city focused on it or if our entire country did, we would not have this problem.

You know, Ireland is a country that there's one company that does it across these three hubs and they reallocate all the food and they have eliminated a lot of hunger across their entire country. Just something we need to focus on.

Passionistas: So. Now that you're in the office and get to enjoy each other every day, um, what is your favorite story about each other from film days, from this time in your life?

What, what is the moment that you think? Kind of captures who the other person is.

Hillary: Sam likes to use this expression, Excuse me! Really, really loud When she wants to get someone's attention And it's always at a time when like, You really need someone to yell that aggressively And you can't see Sam on the screen But she's a little bit shorter than some people And she's got this mighty loud voice And it's just so funny And it's so much of her She's a spicy koala She likes to be called and like Sam, whenever I'm like really sad, I'm like, can you just yell?

And she's like, next. And it's really funny and it just like, I love that about that that story just is Sammy for me.  

Samantha: I really saw you didn't choose the koala.

Hillary: Oh, she up as a koala. She dress a koala. As a koala, sorry. She did dress up as a koala at N-C-I-S-A to try to get LL Cool J to come to our gala. And stood outside of the trailer with a sign that said, Will you please come to our gala?

He didn't, but it was awesome. And she does have a picture with LL Cool J at the koala. So that also was awesome.

Samantha: There's always this here, Todd. Uh, my favorite Hillsy story. I mean, which was? Uh, I think that my favorite was, uh, what was the, what was the Eats got right? It was Eatscon, our first Eatscon. I wasn't here.

I was out of town. My nephew was graduating, so I was out of town. And Hilary was like, yeah, well, do it, do it, do it. It's this little festival. And it was, it was like, what, six carfuls?

Hillary: Yeah, it was like a festival of like a hundred thousand people. It was like the size of a Coachella, really.

Samantha: Yep, that's, that's Hillary. She says yes to all our jobs and we don't always know, but yeah, we've both done that. Uh, Insecure also did the same thing to us. They called us, um, at the end of their show and they were like, Oh, we have some, you know, random, like set dressing items. We'll like drop them off. And, uh, each of us were sort of out of town staggered.

So I got the first load and I was like, Yeah. Bring it by! No big deal, I'll put it in my garage. And the 4D footage showed up with two pallets. My, my garage can't fit my car, so I, I fit the pallets, but barely, uh, they were very sweet, man. You know, and then I think, uh, I left the next week and then they called Hillary and she was like, yeah, I'm in town.

Bring it by. And it was what? Six. So we don't always know what we're getting into. That's our favorite story is when we say yes to something and then we show up.

Hillary: And yeah, we often get to like a ridiculous job and we'll be like, Oh no, we can do this and it's fine. But Sam and I are tend to like, that's why I do love Sam.

It's like, when we get ourself into those situations, I know that we'll be able to get ourselves out.

Samantha: We always find a way.

Passionistas: That's fabulous. So, um, I can't believe our time's almost up, but, um, we could talk to you guys forever. We love what you're doing. Um, we have one last two part question for each of you, which is, um, what is your dream for yourself and what is your dream for women?

Hillary: Oh boy. That's a big one. Um, I think my current dream for myself, because I think those always evolve and change as we go through life, um, because I'm turning 40 this year, is to really, um, let things go. Like, I certainly just hold myself to a level of perfection that's stupid. And I don't want to do that so I want to let that go.

And then I think that's also my thing for women is, like, I think as women in general, we hold ourself to this, like, unattainable level and we spend so much of our evening tearing apart all the things we did great which we should just be saying, look at all the great things I did, um, because everyone does that enough.

So I think that all of us as women need to, like, every day, maybe go home and write down how awesome we were if you don't already feel that way and then if you don't feel awesome, say it until you do. Or call some of your woman friends and say, Hey, I don't feel awesome today. Why am I awesome?

Samantha: I think we do that daily.

Yeah. I think my, uh, my personal dream for myself currently is along the same lines, I think to be a bit more proud. I'm not, um, I'm not the person who is, the person who's out shouting that I'm awesome at all. Or trying to take the credit. I'm super lucky that I have a partner who is always there. Um, telling me how awesome that I am, but I don't necessarily like want attention.

And I think really sort of stepping into, um, accepting that and, you know, being proud, you can be proud and, um, and confident without being, you know, egotistical. And it, you know, it's, it's a, it's a fine, like balance. And I think it's something that most, uh, females struggle with. You know, when they're in leadership, you're sort of like just slapped with, um, imposter syndrome all the time, um, in addition to sort of like some competitiveness, which is not us at all, and it never has been, we're very much about collaboration and supporting women.

And that's what I, that's my like, goal and hope for, for females is that they, they find partnership and friendship and, and support networks like, like we've been able to have and build together. Um, because I think that's just the only way forward, you know, it's the only way forward that I see in general overall for everyone is community, you know, and, uh, especially female community.

That's my hope, just to strengthen

Hillary: it and keep it going. And to dominate right now. Females need to dominate.

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