| Founder(s) | Topaz Page-Green |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2005 |
| Location | Johannesburg and New York |
| Area served | Townships of Johannesburg |
| Focus | Nutrition and Education |
| Motto | 'Feed a child. Nourish a mind.' |
| Website | thelunchboxfund.org |
The Lunchbox Fund, founded in 2005, is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing a daily meal for extremely poor and at-risk students in South African town ship high schools. The daily meal boosts the children’s nutrition and ability to learn. The fund initiates organic food gardens into schools, and also supports small local businesses and entrepreneurs in the townships to produce and distribute bread to the schools.
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The Lunchbox Auction[1] is an event where lunchboxes are decorated by prominent people to illuminate the plight of childhood hunger. Auctioned lunchboxes have been designed by Bill Clinton, Yoko Ono, Liv Tyler, Cameron Diaz, Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Michael Stipe, David Bowie, Beastie Boys, Rachel Ray, Anna Sui, Patti Smith, Kanye West, Josh Hartnett, Mike Myers, Jimmy Kimmel, Hillary Swank, John Mayer, Jimmy Fallon, Jeff Bridges, Iman, Kanye West, Beyonce, Bono, The Edge, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Reese Witherspoon, Naomi Campbell, Joaquin Phoenix, Alice Temperley, Diane Von Furstenburg, Zac Posen, Billy Crudup, Marchesa, Mario Batali, Eva Mendes, Cameron Diaz, Ellen Page, Pete Yorn, Bill Gates, Casey Affleck, Natalie Portman, Orlando Bloom, Tom Colicchio, Alber Elbaz, Tony Bennett, Emeril, James Franco, Helena Christensen, Sean Combs, Charlize Theron, Kate Spade, Lisa Marie Presley and Sarah Silverman.
A number of local volunteers work full- and part-time with the fund in South Africa. The Board of Directors include Topaz Page-Green, Joaquin Phoenix, Rain Phoenix, Hugh Masekela, Mario Batali and Balthazar Getty among others. Salman Rushdie, June Sarpong, Sal Masekela and Lila Azam Zanganeh serve on the Advisory Board.
The Lunchbox has collaborated with the Foodbank for NYC, Rotary International and Ubuntu Education Fund, and also has a number of corporate partners in the US and South Africa.