Celebrating Green Crew Heroes! Hillary Cohen, Covid 1st AD & Co-Founder of Every Day Action
Green The Bid Crew Heroes is a series that highlights individuals who bring sustainable practices to any area of the production process, and seek to inspire others to do the same. Production can’t happen without all crew-members (both on set and off), and the same is true of their support of Green The Bid.
Green The Bid’s Jessie Nagel spoke with Hillary Cohen, Covid 1st AD & CEO/ Co-Founder of Every Day Action, a non-profit organization in Los Angeles that redistributes food excess from film sets directly to those in need.
J.N. Where did you grow up and how did it inform how you do your job today?
H.C. I grew up in Glastonbury, a very white picturesque town in Connecticut nestled in the woods. Being an only child, living pretty remotely from day to day, really pushed me to be the creative person that I am today. I always had to entertain myself, so my mind was always moving and being challenged at a very young age. I was always encouraged to march to the beat of my own drum.
I also was fortunate enough to attend most of my schooling outside of our white town and was exposed to a lot of diversity, both racially and economically.
Seeing real hard working families struggle to just feed their kids gave me a lot of empathy for my fellow humans, which I think really shapes how I approach being an Assistant Director. I always see people first before whatever job title they might have. Whether you are the star of the show or the 500th background artist amongst thousands, we are all people and should all treat each other as such.
J.N. What are some things you do to be more sustainable at work, and what things would you love more post companies and individuals to adopt?
H.C. Sam (Co-Founder of Every Day Action) and I started a non profit to address a big sustainability issue we see on sets; food waste. Why additional catered meals that are not eaten by the cast and crew are thrown out on most sets daily is just silly. Especially when most sets on location are shooting next to or in the middle of a homeless encampment with people going hungry.
Every Day Action reallocates those meals directly to those in need. We service around 6 shows every day and redistribute 1000-1500 meals a week. Imagine how many people we would be able to feed if every set, every post house, every inch of our business donated their food waste....
We hope Every Day Action becomes the standard in Hollywood and changes the way our industry views food waste. To say, "we are not going to participate in donating our food because we are concerned about the liability" is an ancient idea.
Hollywood is so proud of going green; saving paper, eliminating plastic...what about saving people? We are a business known for evolving and adapting; look at how many productions were able to change the way they create their product during the pandemic. To say that it is too difficult or a liability is to continue to just ignore the 66,000+ living on our streets, next to our sets.
Helping people- it's not a liability, it's a necessity.
J.N. What are the things you have changed in your own life to be more environmentally conscious?
H.C. I have really tried to reduce my own waste. Food, clothes, used furniture; something that I perceive as waste, someone else might find a use for. Instead of just throwing something out- I always look to repurpose it or get it to someone who can.
J.N. Who most influences you and inspires you when it comes to being socially and environmentally responsible in your work life and your personal life?
H.C. I think my mom inspires me most when it comes to being socially and environmentally responsible. At the age of 70+ she still works full time as a nurse, volunteers with Home Boys removing tattoos from gang members, is administering COVID vaccines at a pop-up clinic, and volunteers two days a week redistributing meals for Every Day Action. She took me with her to soup kitchens growing up, to build homes for habitat for humanity, and always collected toiletries for women's shelters in CT. She is a badass woman who puts people first and certainly has shaped the way I view the world and helping others.
J.N. If you could do any other job - in the industry or otherwise - what would it be and why?
H.C. I guess I feel like I am also currently doing the "other" job. :) I have been an assistant director for over 10 years- but I get the most joy out of just helping people who need an extra hand. I started a nonprofit with Sam because I wanted to make a shift in what I was doing daily and ultimately want to just run Every Day Action full time.
----- Are you a crew hero or do you know one? We want to hear from you!
