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The PM Podcast
It's What Everyone Needs To Do: A Conversation with Hillary Cohen, a Top Five 2025 CNN Hero
00:26:09
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- [00:00]
A
Oh, the best part of my day is, like, reading the emails. It just makes me emotional. Like, the people we help, like, over Thanksgiving, me and my employee Lindsay just, like, bawled to each other. It was like, oh, my God, they filled all these fridges and all these people weren't hungry. And, like, this is the best thing ever. And it just. I don't. I can't explain it. It's like helping people who are hungry and people in need is what everyone needs to do.
- [00:22]
B
Welcome to the PM Podcast, brought to you by Donor Search, the show that takes you inside the lives of thought leaders, innovators, and change makers in fundraising, philanthropy, and civil society. I'm your host, Jay Frost, recognized as one of the top five CNN heroes of 2025. Hilary Cohen is the co founder of Everyday Action, a nonprofit tackling food waste and hunger by redirecting unused gourmet meals from Hollywood sets to people in need across Southern California. After years working as an assistant director and witnessing staggering amounts of food thrown away daily, Hillary and her co founder Sam Liu set out to challenge the status quo and prove that feeding people shouldn't be too complicated. What began during the pandemic has grown into a movement that partners with studios and fills plates instead of dumpsters. In this episode, Hillary shares how small shifts behind the scenes can lead to big change on the streets. Hello, and thank you for being willing to talk about your work. And especially right after Thanksgiving. That's your busiest time of the year, is that right?
- [01:32]
A
It is, yeah. We since founding in 2020, so it's our sixth annual Thanksgiving, which is crazy to even say. It started in my kitchen, and we made like 450 meals. And then I think we've done. We did three years in my kitchen, where we capped out at a thousand meals. And that year we had like, a refrigerator truck parked in my driveway, and it was this whole ridiculous endeavor. And we had like, air fryers all over my kitchen, but that was too, too much. So then we on Kitchens sponsored us for the next two years, and we grew to do between like 12 and 1300 meals for those two years. And it's like this huge collaborative event that's like volunteers, beneficiaries, donors, drivers. It's just. Just beautiful people and community coming together. So this year we were at Kitchens, which is a brand new kitchen for us. It was three times as, as big and just allowed for us to really host the event we've kind of always dreamed of. We had chefs that came and donated their time every day and really managed the kitchen. So that Sam and I, for the first time, could just focus on the logistics, which is, I think, why, as a team, we were able to serve 1900 meals, which is 400 over what we, like, aimed to do. And it's just a testament to, you know, our team really just bond together over community and coming together as a unit. It was a really beautiful week. And, yeah, we donated food to over 22 organizations and seven LA community fridges.
- [03:03]
B
You know, first of all, that's a stunning number, but it also sounds so different from the impression I had about where this all started, not just in terms of volume, but how you were getting the food and how you were distributing it. So take us way back to the beginning. How did all this start? What was the inspiration for it, and how did it really begin logistically?
- [03:22]
A
Sure. So I am a career director, Skill of America assistant director, along with my co founder, Sam Liu, and we Both spent over 15 years on film sets, directors and producers really managing all the logistics. And I came from the independent world. I grew up on the East Coast. And the first movie I did was a $750,000 movie shot in Worcester, Massachusetts, called Boy Band. And, you know, catering was this woman who brought tuna sandwiches for lunch every day. And craft service was like, what you had in your backpack. So to go from that to moving to Los Angeles, I think my first set was private practice. And just the food from the very first day was like, oh, my goodness, this is. This is like a wedding every day. You know, it was like steak and salmon. And in the same respect, you know, in Los Angeles, there are a lot who are unhoused, which has continued to increase. Many more struggling with food insecurity, but they are literally living next to base camps, next to sets, if not moved for those sets and base camps. And there was this big disconnect for me because we would have all this food, and there's leftovers, not only just because of needing extra for that day, but logistically, things don't work out, and suddenly there's extra meals. And I was so excited to deliver those meals to the people on the other side of the fence that very first day. And when I tried to do that, the caterer threw everything, and he was just like, no, like, we'll get sued. That's illegal. You know, and I was 24 years old or 25 years old getting in the business, very busy trying to just get into the Director's Guild of America at this point. So I was like, oh, yeah, that totally makes sense. Like, people that's yeah, whatever. And just went on, you know, thinking that for my whole career, for over a decade. And then it was like Covid happened and I. My show, Sam and my show shut down and I started selling face masks, which is like a whole other situation. But in doing that, I was actually sewing face masks, watching cnn, very angry and very stuck and very frustrated. And I think it's very similar to a time that's happening right now. It's like people aren't really sure what to do. And there's so much going on and so many things in need that it's a bit overwhelming. And during this time, we were all. We were divided because we were all in our own houses physically, we were all in our own spaces. So the only way to communicate was online. And I just saw people, myself included, saying the most horrible things to each other when they disagreed or when they were angry or frustrated instead of actually doing something. And, you know, one day, myself in this cycle was like, what if I just stopped talking, put my phone down and like, took this rage that I have because it's rage, and channeled it somewhere into whatever the thing is that I'm frustrated about. And for me, it. It really was, how many people were food insecure in Los Angeles? Systematic, you know, systems that weren't working and wanting to fix that. And to me, I felt like, like food insecurity in the United States and people being hungry. It should be a joke because grocery stores exist, so there's no reason why people should be hungry in America. Like, that is stupid. So it's just like not logistically putting those pieces together. So I think it was like this whole massive thing. So really what I wanted to do is instead of inspire people every day to just do something for someone else and channel that rage. And if we all did that every day, imagine the world of productivity we'd live in, right? We wouldn't be so focused on hate. There wouldn't be, you know, we would be all. We would be so busy doing, we. Things would be solved and we would be helping each other on a daily basis, which is what we really need now more than ever. So it was kind of like that idea. And then what was I going to do every day? And for me, this waste on a film set really bothered me. And there were other organizations that do reallocate food, and there are organizations that have done it on a film and tv, but there was none on any set I had been on. And I had worked in Hollywood for a decade. So to me, that problem wasn't being solved loud enough yet. And so I really thought of like, who, who could I do this adventure with? Because it's a massive adventure. And I thought of, you know, every ad I work with in my career and Sam Liu, who is one of my best friends at the time and also someone that worked with me for several years on set. I just knew that we were like the best team to do it. So we got together and talked about, you know, what our everyday action was going to be. And when we came back to work, work, we were working on NCA SLA together that we were going to, you know, solve this problem. So we looked up how to start a 501C3. You know, printed out the checklist, went through like creating the bylaws ourselves, wrote like the articles of incorporation ourselves. My sister in law and founder of the BRA Network really gave us some guidance in starting everyday action and was like, you're going to need a board. I'm going to be on your board. You know, And I was like, thank you so much and went home. What is a board? You know, so it's like that's really where Sam and I started. And every day has just been like solving this puzzle and putting the pieces together. And it started with us just going to one set. You know, we had, we went with our Rolodex. We did build a board of people that are from the entertainment business that would help us get in the room. You know, it's really just to work on a film set you have to sign so much start paperwork. You know, it's, it's odd that you feel like dragon eat a blood sample next. Like there's just so much just to go to work. So I knew that we needed to come back with the same level of paperwork and professionalism for them to let us in to just, you know, take the quote, unquote trash. Because we really, we just, we speak production. Right? I know how to make a call sheet. If you, if your crew calls at 7, I know that you're going to be finished serving at 1:45 with the food ready to pick up at 2:15. I know it's where your catering truck is. So Sam and I know like the ends of where things go. We just want sets to be more responsible with the food that they're serving. Because just like when there's animals on set, there's a humane society and there's fire on set, there's a fire security officer. When there's food on set, everyday action should be around to make sure. It's not wasted because it's just part of our social responsibility.
- [09:30]
B
There's a lot in there to unpack, but it really sounds like it grew out of this idea to do something every day, Everyday Action. Obviously the name of the organization, but you focused on the thing you knew, food. But the thing that struck me about all that was if the idea came to you in the middle of the pandemic, I know that also dramatically impacted production during that time. So were there people working on sets and eating on sets at that time? Because that's one thing that those of us outside of the business wouldn't know.
- [10:00]
A
Yeah. So I guess everything was shut down. And Sam and I used that time to kind of put everything into framework. So we got everything for the nonprofit started so that the moment that production came back, we would be ready to go. So we had liability insurance, we had our board, we had proof of concept. And then there was this event, the DGA held online about COVID And Sean Penn was speaking about everything and amazing work he did at Dodger Stadium. And they needed a filler before or after in case the programming ran before behind. So they invited me on to talk about my mask making. And I knew that I was going to talk about everyday action, so I said yes. And I talked about, about mask making for like two seconds. And I was like, so this is what we're gonna do. And so the very first producer that had the first thing coming back was on that call. So he then made a call with me. We had like a two hour conversation, went through like our whole proof of concept. He brought us on board, made sure we had food. And it was like this two days of Sam and I reallocating food, really, 24 7. And those two days still shape what, what we do. You know, it's like we thought we were, you know, we knew so much and we're, you know, it was like for me, I went out and only had meat and met someone who was a vegan, you know, and it's like in my previous experience to be like, oh, well, you should just eat this. Like, that's so rude of me to have thought and to not have. You know, I feel so bad when someone has a dietary restriction. I don't have the food I'm able to. To provide. So like, that was one part of the just like choice and like human dignity in the entire experience. Like looking people in the eye, not walking past someone, and even if they're not interested in the food that you want, still acknowledging their existence. And time of it, you know, Sam and I went out at like 2 o' clock in the morning after a night shoot and we're like, oh, we're going to be these, you know, trailblazers and we're going to pass food out at 2am and look how cool we are. And you know, you go knock on the first tent door and everyone is sleeping because it's 2:00am and you know, we're both like, oh yeah, like why would anyone want beef stroganoff at 2am? I don't want beef stroganoff at 2am like we gotta figure out something to do with the food at 2am, you know. So then it really grew to supporting beneficiaries across all of Los Angeles because film Production is a 90 mile area of outreach. So yeah, we go through this whole 90 mile area every day with our team of reallocators. It's like a whole nother part of the story.
- [12:22]
B
Wow. Again, for people who don't know la and I know it just a little bit, you are. Those 90 miles are not. It's not 90 minutes.
- [12:32]
A
Oh no. It can be like a four hour. That's like a. And we, that's why our beneficiaries are all over. Right? Because we're not picking up food in Santa Clarita and driving it all the way down to San Pedro. From one place to the other, we try to deliver food as close to the set as possible for our eco footprint. And for that very reason, getting around Los Angeles is very difficult and no one wants to spend more time in their car than they need to.
- [12:54]
B
Another thing that struck me as you went through the origin story is the major obstacle being people's perception that there's a liability issue. Was it that you set up the organization and set up your own liability insurance and so forth, that made it easier for all those folks in the business to say, okay, fine, you can take the food because you're assuming liability and responsibility. Or was it just that you showed them that it was possible or some combo?
- [13:23]
A
It's both. So the Good Samaritan act has existed since the 80s and that protects people across the United States from handing food out federally. So information on that, it's different in every state. But please look up your Good Samaritan act laws and that is a great way to protect anyone from handing food out to anyone in need. So we're covered there. So we always start the conversation with, hey, you might not know about the Good Samaritan act, but here's what it is. Here's what it protects. But furthermore, we have liability insurance as a company that assumes that risk. And we have a live agreement. So we make an agreement with every film set we work with that just releases the liability, says, here's what you're donating. You're giving it to us. Once it's to us, it's ours. And, you know, we assume all risks. We really try to just cover all areas of that process. But what I'm trying to get people to see it as is it's really no different than postmates or doordash or grubhub. It's the same concepts. Someone is bringing food from one location to the other, and when that happens, no one shows up at your door and says, hey, this temperature has been, you know, when it left this kitchen. And I don't know if you like, that only happens to people who don't have access. There's suddenly all these restrictions to just, like, existing. And nine times out of 10, you're eating leftovers out of your fridge, and no one is asking you how many days that's been there or what, and it fulfills you, and it's delicious, and it's something you wanted to eat. So while we're not reallocating something already ate, we are reallocating things that otherwise would have been trash and that shouldn't be thrown out. Because on top of, like, the food insecurity issues that we have across the United States and in California, it's also an environmental issue. Like, we have so much waste, there is no reason why we should be throwing good food out. That is, again, the stupidest thing I've ever heard. It just needs to be reallocated properly.
- [15:04]
B
How is this impacted A number of different folks. I mean, people in the industry, but also the people that you're. You're serving all the. All the various beneficiaries as they've come to know you and I hope you know, trust you and the organization. How has that kind of stimulated a different way of people viewing one another in the community? Because you know what I mean, sometimes. You talked about this before. The tendency for people to kind of go by people they don't recognize, don't know, and maybe are in a precarious situation. Is. Is this helping to bring people together as well as to feed people?
- [15:42]
A
I mean, I'll say for moving from the entertainment space into the what, the nonprofit space and in general in food, it's all about collaboration, and life needs collaboration, and that's how we move forward. And I feel like nonprofit does that so much faster and efficiently than other venues because we're just all in crisis. We're all trying to solve that. So in our collaboration, we support over like 50 nonprofit organizations that are all grassroots and on a smaller scale. So they are then feeding people every week, and they sometimes have to spend two to $300 a week or day on that food. So if we're able to bring food on any given day and those $300 can go back to whatever they need, even if it's operations, that makes a massive impact on a monthly, weekly, yearly basis to a small nonprofit. So it's really about banding together in every which way, shape and form. And Sam and I also, in everyday action, doesn't actually just do food. We also have kind of gone into mutual aid because a lot of film sets have a lot of stuff. I call it the stuff, right? Like refrigerators, backpacks, things that every nonprofit needs. So we always take everything in and then listen to what we need and then custom deliver that to each organization, which I think is really important in support. I think a lot of times in crisis, people just panic and like, oh, I have beanbags. I'm going to send you 800 beanbags. It's going to be so great. And like, no one can use those beanbags. So then it's like a waste of your energy and time and resources, and it gets there. It's just like, it's not actually helpful. So I really feel like community support comes from listening and reacting, and that's really what we try to do and change that. Like, January is the time of year where Sam and I really focus on our beneficiary. Mac. We go through everywhere we helped all last year. Sam and I go visit every organization that we personally haven't been to. We go back to the ones we support. Often we make meetings with every organization to say, hey, how was this year? You know, how was our food? Do we support you enough? Where could you use more support? You know, really listening to what people need before stepping in to help, I think is kind of key.
- [17:51]
B
In terms of volume. I know that you just said it's not only about food, not anymore. And this never was just about food. This is about everyday action. So I want to get into that too. But before we do, what are we talking about now in terms of volume of food? How many meals have you prepared this year?
- [18:05]
A
I mean, so we have reallocated over 120,000 pounds of food will probably be the end of this year, which equates to around 80,000 meals. And that is crazy. That doesn't include all of our mutual aid. And, you know, people always ask, like, when they reach out to us, you know, oh, I'm only going to have, like, five meals today. Is that okay? And Sam and I always say, and still believe that, like, those five meals are still five people that went without food. We're also in the area. So those five meals get looped into other meals. And it's not just a run for five meals, but, like, we do really focus on the smaller individual outreach and try to get to the places that are kind of not seen or left behind.
- [18:47]
B
You were talking earlier also about the environment at the time that this all started for you. We were all sitting in our homes wondering when vaccines would come out, if it was safe to take a walk. All these different thoughts that went through our minds and the hostility that was growing. But you alluded to the hostility that's here today. So how has the environment today, and maybe the growth of the unhoused, among other things, impacted what you're doing, but also what you're thinking about doing next.
- [19:18]
A
With everyday action, I mean, the time for help is really more critical than ever. We're moving into a warehouse space that we've been developing for the past year called the Food Insecurity Shared Hub, which is really, I think, critical across the US Is these food hubs. There's another organization, the Hollywood Food Coalition, that also has a food hub that's a little bit farther along than ours. But we're going to work in partnership to kind of work to support the city and also feel that, like, this could happen across counties. So it's, you know, nonprofits working together to reallocate food and then get it out to people in need in their own lanes. So our warehouse is called fish. It's Food Insecurity Shared Hub. There's five nonprofits total. We all do food and mutual aid and support of some kind. And we all operate individually, but then come together collectively. And once it's fully funded, we'll have a fridge and freezer that will allow for us to accept pallet donations. And again, what also struggles for everyday action is our late night. We go 24, 7. So a lot of film sets are shooting on a Friday, you know, three, four in the morning. So we pick up food really late, late. And it's always been a problem where that food goes because there's only a few organizations that are open. So we want to be able to bring it to our own Warehouse and then in the morning repackage that food ourselves to then support, you know, that, that beneficiary list. More like custom tailored. And then also we reallocate. We don't create, you know, Thanksgiving is only the only week we create that just came out of. We're a food organization. It's Thanksgiving. What are we going to do? Okay, here's what we're going to do. But we, we reallocate. So it's about, you know, getting those goods to other people in need and getting it in a bulk way.
- [21:03]
B
So what has all this meant to you? Because if you were again sitting there trying to figure out what's next in 2020 or 2021, when this whole idea really was launched, but now you're in the thick of it, not only what has it meant to you, but what has it meant to your kind of your life trajectory? Because I assume you came from the east working on indie films, out to LA as part of, you know, building your career with dga. You've really gone down a totally different path.
- [21:33]
A
Yeah, my show, NCIS Los Angeles was canceled about two years ago and it was right during the writers strike and the SAG strike, like the perfect time. And we had been working on Everyday Action for about two and a half years at that point. Running it full time while working on set, which was nuts. Like that was like 20 hour days for two and a half years. And like, I really don't know how Sam and I like are alive to tell that tale, but so it was like kind of the, the perfect time of like we needed to work at Everyday Action full time, but we didn't have the funding for it. So we just kind of took the leap. Since then we've been working there entirely full time, like beyond 20, 24 7, just trying to get full funding so we can sustain our nonprofit. Because, you know, we employ production assistants and background artists who are in between jobs. We've, you know, that's over 30 people since founding. That's, that's a lot. That's where most of our funding has gone and there's the supplies for doing everything. So to get funding for like the operational side has been, you know, a big challenge. And so it's really been about getting there the past two years. You know, Sam and I definitely are struggling ourselves a bit, but it's like this is the best work I've ever done in my life. I truly feel like I was meant to go through the DGA to be on a set for 10 years to do this, like there. My career always kind of went pretty quickly and I feel like I moved up quickly because I needed to understand everything to do this. Like, I love coordinating. I always say Sam and I are high stakes puzzle solvers and I was solving like the wrong conversation. Like I'm. I just really love putting my skills towards people who genuinely just need help. And like my entire, oh, the best part of my day is like reading the emails. It just makes me emotional. Like the people we help, like over Thanksgiving, me and my employee Lindsay just like bawled to each other. It was like, oh my God, they filled all these fridges and all these people weren't hungry. And like, this is the best thing ever. And it just, I don't, I can't explain it. It's like helping people who are hungry and people in need is what everyone needs to do and we all just need to band together. And yeah, it's been a big change. It's hard, you know, to be struggling myself, but totally worth it.
- [23:43]
B
So what would your message be for people who are also sitting in their kind of moment of indecision and wondering what to do next? Whether it's to collaborate with you or to do something on their own. What have you learned from this that you think you'd like to share with others?
- [24:00]
A
Well, I always say go for it. Like if you have an idea, if you have something, go for it. Don't stand in your own way. You know, life's only complicated if you make it so. So nothing's too complicated. It's just an idea. But also allow yourself grace. You know, Sam and I came from a world of absolute perfection. And that has been something in running into everyday action that we every day, it's okay to fail. Which I know is a strange concept, but like Sam and I are definite perfectionists. And I'm someone who goes home at the end of every day and I'm like, I did this wrong, I did this wrong. I did this wrong. I don't see all the amazing things, you know. So I would say allow yourself to like breathe and to know that everyone in the non profit space is just doing the best they can. They're trying to figure it out. So you're gonna get some weird bill from the tax department or you know something. It happens to all of us. You know, there's so many non profit, I call them queens in my life who run massive big non profits, do so much more than everyday action does. And I just call them and say, oh my gosh, you know, I don't know what to do or, you know, Sam and I are developing our budget. You know, for the first time, we have payroll taxes in California. Payroll taxes are insane. You know, so it's like talking to nonprofits and like, you know, how much do you put aside for payroll taxes and how much do you spend and how many employees do you have? So it's like, just allow yourself some grace because it's really complicated. And don't let that sit in the way of doing because it's not too complicated.
- [25:24]
B
Well, that's it for this episode of the PM Podcast. You can learn more about everyday action@your everydayaction.org Our thanks to our sponsor, Donor Search, the global leader in AI powered fundraising intelligence solutions for the nonprofit sector. Our producer is Jack Frost and our theme music is Moving Out, Moving in by Jay Taylor and is provided courtesy of Epidemic Sound. If you like what you heard, make sure to subscribe wherever you like to listen. Check out our sister shows, Front Lines of Social Good and How to Raise. And come back next weekend for another conversation with a leader in the world of social good. Until then, this is Jay Frost. Thanks for joining me.