#HashtagLunchbag began on Christmas 2012 in a Los Angeles apartment by a group of friends who were having trouble finding a fun & meaningful way to give back. After a few failed attempts, we decided to take it upon ourselves and create our own experience. We went to our local grocery store and bought enough food to prepare 100 lunches (the kind your mom made you in grade school that made the other kids jealous). We sang and danced. We cracked jokes. We took breaks to watch funny Youtube videos. We connected with each other on a different level, while having the time of our lives! We hit the streets near the Santa Monica Pier and Venice Boardwalk looking for anyone that could use a meal. We smiled when asking people if they were hungry. We exchanged pleasantries while handing over our creations. We acknowledged their humanity, as well as our own. When we were done, we felt awesome and wanted to share with our friends! So we did. We shared on each of our social media platforms, jokingly tagging our posts with #HashtagLunchbag as an ode to hashtags.... plus it rhymed with what we were distributing (simple enough, right?).

We didn't originally intend to repeat our efforts but shortly after sharing, we received an abnormally large amount of likes/comments/calls/texts/emails from people telling us how amazing this looked & wanting to join us for "the next one." Riding the high of our good deeds, we decided to repeat our efforts a month later in January 2013. More of our friends joined, more meals were made, and more people were fed. Once again, we felt awesome and once again, we shared. The ripple continued and more people were hitting us up wanting to know how they could get involved. We ran it back for another go 'round in February 2013, growing out of our apartment to a local restaurant. We set a goal of making 1,000 meals. 100 hundred people showed up for the party. We added love notes of encouragement to each meal to further acknowledge those we were feeding, reminding them that they weren't forgotten. Just like we did, everyone went on to share their experiences on their social platforms, intriguing and inspiring their friends and their followers.

The ripple continued and ever since, we've hosted #HashtagLunchbag events at least once a month in Los Angeles. Through our committed efforts, we began to see others, friends and strangers alike, replicate our model. We shared our story with anyone interested and empowered many to bring our movement to their local community with simple do-it-yourself instructions. To date, our movement has grown to 100+ cities hosting #HashtagLunchbag events around the globe! We never thought that our small actions one Christmas morning would have gone global, inspiring others to spread love, one lunch bag at a time.

Our rapid growth led to the formation of the Living Through Giving Foundation, a registered 501(c)3 non profit organization that empowers humanity with the tools to create & benefit from organized acts of Love. via www.hashtaglunchbag.or. 

Here in Miami we got started by a young woman who moved from LA to Miami and was in search of like-minded individuals. December, 2013 was the first hashtaglunchbag Miami. After that event HTLB Miami wanted to be more impactful and teamed up with other individuals who searched for the same outcome. Since then we have been more impactful and have fed thousands of people in the Miami Dade County. We encourage you to do your part and plant your seed with us for a better future.