FEED Supper: Affecting Change Through The Power of Organized Spontaneity

Our team at Bulldog Drummond recently came together for food, conversation and a meaningful cause to support FEED’s latest initiative. FEED Projects is on a mission to create good products that help feed the world. FEED’s business model is brilliant, with a set donation built directly into the cost of each product so that each purchase is understandable, tangible, and meaningful. FEED was built on the premise that the power of the individual can become part of the solution. And through their latest initiative, called FEED Supper, they were able to harness the power of group-giving to raise enough money to provide over 1,755,000 meals and continue their impact around the globe.

FEED began the crowd-sourced initiative to bring awareness to World Food Day, bringing communities together to share a meal at the FEED Supper. The campaign encouraged people to gather around a table to eat together with the goal of raising 1 million meals for people in America and around the world. Recognizing the power of food and the connections and conversations that happen when people eat together were the inspiration behind this global cause that millions participated in. The event was successful because it created an experience while connecting people to FEED’s mission.

3 FEED Supper Success Stories

San Diego, California: Eating together, brings us together

Inspired by the idea, the Bulldog team called on our passionate friends, community members and food enthusiasts to join us in the FEED Supper initiative. We were inspired by the power that comes from bringing fantastic people together to eat and talk about a serious issue to raise awareness and meaningful funds.

We posted our own campaign, encouraged fundraising and invited friends and family to our own FEED Supper. The event was hosted at our downtown San Diego office with live music, hand-made decorations and amazing home-cooked food. Twenty-five people gathered to feast and celebrate with a purpose. The air was thick with passion and buzzing with meaningful conversations. It was truly a special event.

Paris, France: One part challenge, one part inspiration

Because we believe in learning from others, we’ve talked to our friends and colleagues who participated in the event around the globe.

Jean-François Marti, CEO of Nealite, participated in Paris with the intention of not only raising funds for the cause but sharing a meaningful moment with others. While bringing together people for the event, he introduced them to the idea of food design through the caring business concept. His 50-person event took place at his agency headquarters with food and chalkboard walls filled with information about FEED, inspiring quotes, motivational statements, and fun drawings. The event created a platform to share a new concept through a meaningful dinner.

Los Angeles, California: Feeding the hungry and feeding the soul

Chelsea Matthews, Founder of Matte Black in Los Angeles, a longtime admirer of the FEED organization, also participated in the event. Although many of her guests had never met, new conversations were sparked, creating connections around the issue of hunger. It was a time for meaningful learning where attendees were educated about the cause and collaborative ideas were shared. “The most inspiring thing about the Supper,” said Matthews, “was that new friendships were fostered over a delicious meal and some great conversation.”

A Few Takeaways for all Nonprofits

1. Never underestimate the power of people coming together!

Want to create some conversation around, or increase awareness about, a certain cause? Bringing people together is a natural and powerful way to get people to engage with your organization’s cause and mission. People will want to share their experiences and opinions about the issues at hand, so this is a great way to ignite passions (hopefully positively!) and motivate people to take action.

Make sure you spark the conversation by sharing why you’re hosting the event. Do you have a personal connection to the cause? If so, tell your guests. Ultimately, they’ve come to support you, so understanding your story will strengthen their connection to the cause too.

2. Take the Time to Get Organized!

Part of what made FEED Supper so successful was how organized and well-thought out their campaign was. This made it exceptionally easy for people to take action, get involved and talk to their guests about the cause. If you’re encouraging people to host remote events, like FEED has done, make sure you provide all the resources they’ll need from start to finish. This means a step-by-step how-to for getting started or signing up, a way to invite guests, easily accept registrations and donations, branded resources they might need and, especially, ample information on talking about your cause.

3. Direct, Simple, Fun

FEED Supper was a simple and engaging campaign to raise awareness around the issue of hunger by bringing people around the country together to talk about a problem and actively do something about it. FEED created a project model that was easy to understand using beautiful, clean design to help people visualize each step. They also ensured creating your event and accepting donations were very straightforward (in fact, they use Classy!) The less hassle signing up or donating is, the more likely people are to take action and follow through with their initial motivation!

Check out FEED’s resources to get some ideas and inspiration:

– The step by step page

– The event registration page where you could create your fundraising page (e.g. your FEED Supper). Note: This is now just a donation page because the event is officially over.

– FEED Supper Toolkit that included FEED branded placemats and conversation starters for the event reminded guests why they came together.

– Prewritten tweets to encourage social sharing

– A custom hashtag for the event, so the organization and participants could celebrate each Supper – FEED invited everyone to share their events via Instagram with the hashtag #FEEDsupper.

There’s significant power in bringing people together for a cause. FEED did a masterful job of bringing awareness to their mission by using food to create a meaningful experience and connect people to their purpose. By leveraging online tools (plus some thoughtful organization and creativity!), supporters can have a very tangible experience with your organization and cause, no matter where in the world they are!

About the Author Shawn Parr is the Guvner & CEO of Bulldog Drummond, an innovation and design consultancy headquartered in San Diego whose clients and partners have included Starbucks, Diageo, Jack in the Box, Taco Bell, Adidas, MTV, Nestle, Pinkberry, American Eagle Outfitters, IDEO, Sony, Virgin, Disney, Nike, Mattel, Heineken, Annie’s Homegrown, Kashi, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, The Honest Kitchen, and World Vision. Follow the conversation: @BulldogDrummond.

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