The Beginning
Lauren Bush Lauren is the niece of former President George W. Bush, the granddaughter of former President George H.W. Bush and the wife of David Lauren, son of Ralph Lauren. Despite, connections in high places, Lauren has seen her fair share of poverty around the world. Lauren acted as a United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Honorary Student Spokesperson and was able to travel to Africa, Asia and Latin America and see the program’s effects on the ground. A fashion designer herself, Lauren, in 2006, designed a bag to support the WFP’s School Feeding Program. The bag was designed to imitate the bags used by WFP in distribution, especially with the use of burlap. Lauren labelled each bag with the FEED logo and a number, signifying the number of children the purchase of the bag would help feed for a year. In 2007, FEED Projects LLC. was started by Lauren and her partner Ellen Gustafson.
The Products
FEED currently offers a very wide variety of products to choose from. Now, these products, besides displaying the logo and number of meals provided, also show the country that the purchase supports. Bags from duffle bags to artisan tote bags, laptop cases, bracelets, scarves, t-shirts and even children’s apparel can be found at http://www.feedprojects.com/.
The Impact
$6 million+ has been has raised through FEED Projects, providing more than 75 million meals to 62 countries. FEED Foundation was created in 2008. It is a non-profit designed to provide other services impoverished areas and support other local organizations fighting hunger around the world. FEED Project partnerships have also expanded to include UNICEF, Target and Tom’s Shoes.
Lauren Bush Lauren used her design skills and concern for the hunger across the globe to create products that not only give back, but are becoming a fashion statement (much like Tom’s Shoes).
“When I started FEED I hadn’t even heard of the term social entrepreneur. Now it’s the cool hip buzzword,” Said Lauren when asked about her beginnings as a social entrepreneur,
“It’s part of our generation’s ethos to want to pursue our passions, pursue business, pursue entrepreneurship, but also do it with the world in mind.”
To find out more please visit/watch the links below:
http://www.feedprojects.com/
http://www.thefeedfoundation.org/
FEED projects has a neat entrepreneurial success story supporting a great non-profit cause. The way that they display the number of people the purchase is helping really connects the customer and I think that is what is truly special about the product. I also think this is a good example of people with some high up connections using their popularity to help others and spread the word about this growing non-profit organization.
I love FEED products! I first heard about it when I visited Target. I agree with Caroline, this is a great way to make customers really feel that they are helping others. I find it funny that she talks about “social entrepreneurship” being a buzzword. I hadn’t heard of the term until I got to GCC. Lauren is doing such great things and this made me want to go shopping again!
It’s refreshing to hear about a celebrity kid that isn’t out ruining their life. The idea sounds really great. It’s simple enough and seems like it already has a following–I’m sure her connections helped a little. I really like the quote at the end about pursuing passions and ultimately entrepreneurship with the world in mind.