Lunch Bunch!!!!!!!!!

In January, WWA gallery, the home to all of Industrial Squid’s events, played host to a group show curated by the lovely Artist Sisters, CJ Metzger and Miss Mindy. The show, entitled “Trappings,” featured works by Dee Chavez, Jeni Yang, Celene, Tina Darling, Su Moon, Katie Rice, Lesley Reppeteaux, as well as the Artist Sisters themselves and during the show all of the artists in attendance began a collaborative painting which was to be donated to the wonderful LA based charity, Lunch Bunch. Well earlier this month we received the completed painting and as you can see it is A-mazing. Since I needed to get the painting over to the Lunch Bunch crew anyway, I thought I’d tag-a-long with them as they did their thing and this past Sunday I did just that. I had an amazing time and I want to help spread the word about the Lunch Bunch and exactly what they do.

Lunch Bunch is the brain child of two of the bestest friends the world has ever known, Meridyth MacDonald and Ana Bagayan. Very giving by nature, these two ladies wanted to find something to do with their time that would help others that were in desperate need and thus they formed Lunch Bunch, a program in which every Sunday they get together, buy food, create bag lunches and drive around Los Angeles disseminating them to the homeless and disadvantaged. It has nearly been a year since they first began Lunch Bunch, and Ana and Mere still do it with the same eagerness and joy that is normally only associated with the beginning of such an endeavor; where as most people their age would have lost interest or motivation by now, they have an unflinching dedication to Lunch Bunch that is beyond admirable. Over the past year, Lunch Bunch has provided thousands of lunches, inspired just as many smiles, and picked up many new friends along the way. Being with them as they passed out the lunches, seeing the looks on the faces of those who received their charity, I came to realize that Ana and Meridyth were doing more than just putting food in peoples stomachs, they were reminding people, people whom most of the world either ignores or forgets, that we are capable of being good to each other, and that our lives, as harsh and unforgiving as they can be at times, are also filled with these beautiful moments of kindness.

In order to help pay for all of the food that they pass out, Lunch Bunch holds art auctions from time to time. Ana, a well established and extremely talented artist herself, relies on others in the art community to donate works that she and Mere can then auction off. That is where the Trappings painting comes into play. It will be available in their next auction, which is coming up soon. Lunch Bunch is still accepting donations for their upcoming auction, and if you don’t have any art to give they are also continually accepting monetary donations as well. As it gets closer to the actual date of the auction, I’ll be posting an interview with the Lunch Bunch crew, as well as more details on the auction itself. If you’d like to become involved or donate, please contact Lunch Bunch directly at Lunchbunchco@gmail.com and follow their blog at http://lunchbunchco.blogspot.com/.

I’d like to thank both Meridyth and Ana for allowing me the chance to help them with their project. Along with the immense amount of fun that I had being in their presence, I also walked away from the experience feeling far more satisfied with how I spent my Sunday afternoon than I have in a while. It was a gift I wasn’t expecting, but if I had to guess I’d say most people who spend any time with Ana and Mere leave with that same feeling.

Sincerely,

Dave