Billie Eilish and Maggie Baird.Photo: Matty Vogel
When the pandemic broughtBillie Eilish’s Where Do We Go? tour to a halt in 2020, the singer and her mom, actressMaggie Baird, found themselves isolating at home in Los Angeles, itching for ways to help.
“I told Billie, ‘This is going to be devastating for people who need food, and restaurants are going to go out of business,” Baird recalls in this week’s issue of PEOPLE, which she’s featured in with her daughter among the 2022 Women Changing the World.
The duo — both longtime vegans — decided to take action and purchased a number of meals from local eateries to donate. But while working with charities to distribute them, they noticed that dietary restrictions and nutritional value didn’t always factor in to the offerings.
“The question was, ‘How many people can we feed for a dollar?'” says Baird. “Not, ‘Howwellcan we feed them — and how can we help the planet at the same time?'”
To link the fights against food scarcity and climate change, Baird launched the nonprofitSupport + Feedin March 2020, with the goal of providing nourishing plant-based meals to people in need.
“Plant-based food can feed more people, because that’s how the food chain works,” Baird explains. “And we’re helping the local economy and the planet; the impact of animal agriculture is devastating. There are also so many benefits to eating plant-based.”
(According to theHumane Society, animal agriculture is responsible for up to 16 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. TheMayo Clinicsays eating plant-based meals can help people lose weight, lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease.)
Patrick O’Connell, Maggie Baird, Amy Winston and Billie Eilish.Courtesy SUPPORT+FEED
Two years since its inception, Support + Feed has expanded beyond L.A. to New York, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. Throughout 2022, they will also reach cities like New Orleans, Atlanta, Detroit, Chicago and Nashville before going abroad to Europe and Australia as they travel on Eilish’seco-friendly Happier Than Ever tour.
“What we do is partner with community organizations in the cities to uplift what they’re already doing,” says Baird. “These organizations don’t always have plant-based food provided for them, which they all are looking for, so it’s a great combination.”
On tour Support + Feed is also among the five nonprofits showcased in Eilish’s new Eco-Village. At the village, fans can sign up to take “The Pledge” to eat one plant-based meal a day for 30 days in support of a healthy planet.
“I have loved having Support & Feed out on tour,” says Eilish, 20. “It really makes me feel there’s a change in the air. It feels like there really has been change in the crowds and lots of people taking the pledge and being open-minded to the idea of eating plant-based. Even [if it’s] just for a couple of meals a week, it always makes a difference.”
“I’m really just so proud of my mom for creating this nonprofit,” she continues. “The fans have been so supportive, and it’s been so amazing seeing them so involved. My generation will be the one to see the firsthand consequences of climate change, so we need to be doing everything we can now to take action against it.”
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While on the road touring, Eilish and Baird have been doing everything they can to be as climate-positive as possible. With help from the environmental nonprofit organizationReverb, they’ve been able to set up recycling and water filling stations on their buses and in arenas. They also compost food waste in the cities that allow it.
But the highest environmental cost of fans coming to see the show, Baird says, is their travel. So, “we encourage carpooling and public transportation,” she says.
“Like with anything, there are challenges,” she says. “We’re always learning.”
When Billie’s career started really taking off, Baird says it was clear that they were going to use the platform for good.
As to what keeps her motivated to continue doing this work, Baird says it’s “Billie.”
“I see how hard she works, and how willing she is to give of herself,” she says. “So a lot of what I do, I do for her.”
In turn, Eilish says her mom is her “biggest inspiration.”
“She works so unbelievably hard,” she says. “She is so selfless, and she cares so much about people and the world in a way that I don’t think you could even believe is possible.”
“What inspires me most about my mom is her drive to make change and to influence and to make the world a better place,” she adds. “We, as people, hope for change, but often we just think it and say it. My mom is one of those people who really does it, and that’s so amazing to me. Her love shocks me, too. I can’t believe she loves people the way she does. It’s really beautiful.”
source: people.com
