How Every Day Action Found a Way to Feed the Hungry, Cut Waste on Film Sets — and Hire Out-of-Work Crew Members

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Last Tuesday, Samantha Luu and Arun Goswami were organizing day-old cupcakes and bread loaves crafted by artisans at a warehouse on Alvarado Street. They were anticipating text messages about TV productions happening around Los Angeles.

However, “Nobody Wants This,” which is being filmed in Eagle Rock, and “The Lincoln Lawyer,” produced at L.A. Center Studios, didn’t save any crew meals. As a result, Arun shifts to Plan B: distributing numerous pounds of leftover baked goods from Whole Foods to partners such as the Hollywood Food Coalition.

Every day at Every Day Action, a venture founded by ex-assistant directors Hillary Cohen and Luu in 2020 to combat production waste, operates. Their vehicles, belonging to the nonprofit organization, traverse the city, visiting sets of various shows such as “Abbott Elementary,” “NCIS,” “9-1-1” and “The Pitt.”

In this rephrased version, I’ve tried to make the text more conversational and easier to read.

As a devoted movie-goer and advocate for change, I found myself growing increasingly disheartened by the excessive waste of food. In these challenging times, as we grapple with the ongoing pandemic, I felt compelled to take action. And so, I dedicated my efforts full-time to Every Day Action, an initiative aimed at addressing this pressing issue.

Every year, our organization provides over 85,000 meals to various groups including homeless individuals, veterans, and families, with the help of organizations like Bridge to Home, SELAH, and Alexandria House.

Cohen explains that each day, we travel from Santa Clarita to San Pedro in connection with our film production work. At the end of lunch, we gather up the high-end leftovers from catering, and then we transport them,” says Cohen.

Luu and Cohen operate from a warehouse located in Historic Filipinotown, known as the Food Insecurity Sharing Center (FISH), where multiple organizations collaborate to store food and additional resources prior to their distribution.

The aim is to broaden our cold and pallet storage space to accommodate nighttime food deliveries and overnight storage. To achieve this, Every Day Action’s third annual charity gala with celebrity guests is scheduled for May 17th, with Rachel Bloom as the host. During the event, Noah Wyle will honor R. Scott Gemmil, the showrunner of “The Pitt,” with the Heart of Humanity award. Tickets for a pre-gala social hour are still up for grabs.

Despite a general drop in film and TV production throughout the city, Cohen asserts that commercials continue to thrive. “We’ve noticed less of a significant decrease, and interestingly enough, commercials can generate quite a bit of food waste due to their brief shooting schedule,” she explains.

With financial aid from the Annenberg Foundation and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, as well as backing from various entertainment firms, Every Day Action is also providing jobs for workers within the film industry.

Cohen mentions that they often provide driving services to those in the industry who are facing financial difficulties, such as production assistants, background artists, or anyone else working in the field, whenever their budget allows.

For eight years, Goswami operated as a van driver while also working in the food service department. However, opportunities began to dwindle. In his own words, “It had never been this sluggish before,” expressing that he wasn’t fully prepared for a career shift. Cohen highlights the Every Day method as having three key aspects: it tackles food waste issues, employs workers in troubled productions, and provides meals to those in need. She voiced concerns that the challenges might intensify further.

She foresees that the food crisis will escalate substantially over the coming two years due to rising food costs and persisting job losses. The issue of food insecurity in Los Angeles and the U.S. is expected to expand rapidly, at a rapid pace.

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2025-05-01 02:16