People Making A Difference: Local Nonprofit Delivers Extra Food From Film Sets To Those In Need

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Tens of thousands of people in Los Angeles County are going hungry and have no place to call home. It's a crisis being made worse by the ongoing pandemic.

"There are people living on the streets and we need to help them," Hillary Cohen, assistant director for NCIS Los Angeles, said.

It's a startling trend that Cohen and Sam Luu, also an assistant director on the hit CBS show, are on a mission to fix.

"Whenever we've been asked, 'Why can't we hand this food out,' we've always been told, 'Oh, well we might get sued,' or 'It's a liability issue. It's really just easier if we throw it out.'" Cohen said.

So the women started Every Day Action, a nonprofit that works to reallocate extra food from film sets to underprivileged and homeless communities.

The duo, along with a team of volunteers they call food ninjas, pick up meals from film sets in a 90-mile radius. So far, volunteers have been able to pick up about 1,000 meals per week from six sets.

"Everyone is so, so grateful and so excited," Luu said.

From stacks of gourmet meals to cars filled with snacks, Every Day Action is taking an age-old problem on Hollywood film sets and turning it into a way to give back at a time when people need it most.

"We want to remind people these are humans too, and it's up to us to take care of each other," Luu said.