About This Episode

What inspires people to help others? Chef Marcus Samuelsson owner of Harlem's Red Rooster and FEED founder Lauren Bush Lauren come from different backgrounds but both have found a way to share their strength with others. Samuelsson and Bush Lauren discuss their individual paths to social impact work and how they use their networks for good. They discuss the role of privilege in one's life, as Lauren notes: “It’s literally like a ‘birth lottery’ – just because of where you are born, your next meal is not a guarantee.” And how acknowledging this privilege broadens and deepens once perspective and empathy, “The luxury of being adopted and the luxury of being African is that… you get windows into different worlds. [Ethiopia] is more than this quick sound bite or how people want to label us with false narratives,” says Samuelsson.

Resources and Mentions:

marcus Samuelsson

Marcus Samuelsson

Chef // Harlem's Red Rooster

Born in Ethiopia, Marcus Samuelsson grew up in Sweden cooking alongside his grandmother, Helga, and today uses food as a way to explore his roots. An acclaimed chef and James Beard “Rising Star Chef," Samuelsson is an award-winning cookbook author, co-founder of the Marcus Samuelsson Group, TV host, and chef for the first State Dinner for President Barack Obama in 2009.

Lauren Bush Lauren

Lauren Bush Lauren

CEO and Co-founder // FEED Projects

Lauren Bush Lauren co-founded FEED Projects in 2007, which makes and sells bags with a portion of the sales donated to the United Nations World Food Programme to feed children in need around the world. Every FEED product has a number stamped on it that signifies the amount of meals or micronutrient packets provided with its purchase. Bush Lauren is the daughter of Neil Bush and Sharon Bush, granddaughter of former President George H. W. Bush, and niece of former President George W. Bush and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush.

No Kid Hungry logo

No Kid Hungry

http://nokidhungry.org/

Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign is ending child hunger in America by ensuring all children get the healthy food they need, every day.

Red Rooster Harlem

https://www.redroosterharlem.com/

Located in the heart of Harlem, Red Rooster Harlem serves comfort food that celebrates the roots of American cuisine and the neighborhood’s diverse culinary traditions.

FEED Projects

https://feedprojects.com/

An impact driven lifestyle brand with an enduring principle at the heart of what we do: that people’s choices of what to buy and wear have the power to change the world.