Last week felt like a dream.
On Tuesday I was flown to L.A. as part of a wonderful campaign I’m a part of called Child Hunger Ends Here. The campaign is helping to raise awareness that 1 in every 4 children do not know where there next meal is coming from and that everyone can do their part and help. It was a two day trip, so a lot was packed in and there was no time to spare.
After landing at LAX, we were shuttled to grab a quick bite at our hotel and then back into a shuttle to head to the LA Food Bank where we took a tour of the facilities and then helped pack backpacks, full of food, for children to take home on the weekend so that they had food to eat. We packed A LOT of backpacks and that was only a tiny fraction that needed to be filled. Packing those backpacks felt good because I felt we were helping make a difference in a child’s life, but knowing that is was only a tiny dent and that this needed to be done every week, broke my heart.
After our trip to the food bank, we were shuttled back to the hotel to freshen up and then head out to dinner. At dinner, we all got the chance to get to know each other a little better. I got to hear Andrea from Mommy Snacks tell me how and why she started using coupons and I got to hear Andrea from Savvy Sassy Moms tell me about her experience meeting Stephanie Neilson on Oprah. The restaurant was loud, we ate at Bucca di Pepo’s, but we managed to learn a lot about each other. After dinner the conversation continued in the hotel lounge and then we all said our good nights and headed off to get some sleep.
I was so excited about our trip to the set of Desperate Housewives that I was awake by 4:30 am and downstairs ready for breakfast before anyone else. We got a quick bit to eat and then headed over to Universal Studios and to the set of Desperate Housewives. There was so much excitement in the air when we saw news crews interviewing celebrities and when we were in the bathroom, in walked Gretchen from the Real Housewives of Orange County…it was kinda strange at that point to be in the bathroom with a celebrity.
After we got to explore “Susan’s House”, Allison Sweeney from Days of Our Lives and the Biggest Loser came over to talk to us. She was extremely nice and even took photos with us. She talked very passionately about the fight to end child hunger. We all adored her!
Then we were taken on a short tour of the set and were given the background on all of the houses on the set. We ended down near where the press conference was to be held. While waiting, Slade and Gretchen from the Real Housewives of Orange County came over and chatted with us. They were extremely nice and shared their adoration for each other with us openly, like we were all friends catching up.
After the press conference, that ConAgra Foods and Feeding America spoke to us about the severity of this issue of child hunger, David Arquette came over to us and introduced himself and then went one by one and shook everyone’s hand. Then he plopped himself down right on the steps with us and took a picture with us. He was genuinely sweet and welcoming.
The trip was one I will never forget and never want to. I learned so much about what goes on behind the scenes at the LA Food Bank, how the fight to end child hunger is going to be a tough one and how everyone can do their part. It was utterly amazing!
Go to childhungerendshere.com to find out how you can hold your own neighborhood rally and get the supplies to make it successful too. I had my rally Sunday and can’t wait to share how it went!
