Last night BoxLunch hosted their Holiday Gala, celebrating the pop culture retailer’s philanthropic partnership with Feeding America and Hollywood showed up to share their support. Actor and comedian Joel McHale hosted the event ,appearing alongside outgoing BoxLunch Ambassador SImu Liu (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) who made a surprise appearance. Other celebrities that appeared included David Harbour (Stranger Things), Teyonah Parris (The Marvels), Erin Moriarty (The Boys), Anika Noni Rose (The Princess and the Frog), David Dastmalchian (The Suicide Squad), Xochitl Gomez (Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness), Val Chmerkovskiy (Dancing with the Stars), Emma Caulfield Ford (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Seth Green (Robot Chicken), Emily Swallow (The Mandalorian), Daniel Logan (Star Wars), Adam Shankman (Hairspray) and more.
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For those unfamiliar, BoxLunch supports their partnership with Feeding America in a major way, with every $10 spent in store and online going to provide a meal to a person in need. BoxLunch has over 245 physical retail stores nationwide, each that gives to a local book bank. According to a press release, in 2023, BoxLunch celebrated a milestone of 175 million meals donated to Feeding America. Last night BoxLunch put the spotlight on four Feeding America network local food banks to highlight the work they’ve done, including an additional $25,000 donation to each.
- Joel Mchale introduced Erika Duran, a San Diego mother of 3 who uses Feeding San Diego Food Bank to feed her children healthy and nutritious meals. She told her story and helped award Feeding San Diego with $25,000.
- Xochitl Gomez (Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness) and Dancing with the Stars pro partner Val Chmerkovskiy presented the “Community Commitment” award to Sari Vatske, CEO of the Central Texas Food Bank.
- Erin Moriarty (The Boys) and David Dastmalchian (Oppenheimer) presented the “Community Impact” award to Allyson Vaulx, Assistant Vice President of Philanthropy from Feeding South Florida.
- Teyonah Parris (The Marvels) presented the “Community Outreach” award to Cassidie Bates, Government & Public Affairs Manager from Food Bank of Contra Costa & Solano
The event last night also include outgoing BoxLunch Ambassador Simu Liu passing the torch to the new BoxLunch Ambassador, David Harbour (Stranger Things). Liu presented Harbour with a matching BoxLunch Letterman Jacket to commemorate their Ambassadorship. Harbour then confirmed he would be making $100,000 donation to Feeding America, presenting a novelty giant check to Chief Marketing and Digital Experience Officer, Jennifer Polk. The Stranger Things star later returned to the stage and remarked, “This is my show, and I can’t be shown up by a very handsome, much younger, talented, injured actor like Simu. I am doubling the donation!” announcing an astounding $200,000 contribution to further support Feeding America’s vital mission.
