Billie Eilish’s Mom, Maggie Baird, Is Feeding People and Fighting for the Planet

You may know her as Billie Eilish’s mom, but Maggie Baird is also an activist, storyteller, and founder of Support + Feed, a nonprofit tackling hunger, equity, and climate change with plant-based meals. What began as a living room idea during COVID has grown into a movement spanning 11 cities—delivering nutritious meals to communities cut off from healthy food, hosting free farmers markets, and inspiring fans worldwide to take the Support + Feed pledge.

Maggie is also reshaping the music industry from the inside, working with Billie, Finneas, and partners like REVERB to push arenas toward plant-based menus, cut down on waste, and prove that sustainability can be the easier, better option. Her philosophy? Progress over perfection. Whether it’s one plant-based meal a day or one arena ditching single-use plastic, small shifts add up to big change.

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Transcript

When the world shut down in March 2020, Maggie Baird and her daughter Billie Eilish found themselves in their Los Angeles living room, watching the world transform overnight. Tours were canceled, restaurants were closing their doors, and food insecurity was rising dramatically across communities. Within days, they had crystallized a plan: purchase meals from struggling plant-based restaurants and deliver them to community organizations in neighborhoods systematically cut off from healthy food access.

That spontaneous living room conversation became Support + Feed, a nonprofit that now operates in 11 cities, has distributed hundreds of thousands of meals, and is fundamentally reshaping how we approach the intersection of food, equity, and climate action.

During her appearance on the Scientista Podcast with Dr. Sweta Chakraborty and Monica Medina, Maggie shared her remarkable journey—from raising two globally recognized artists to building a movement that tackles multiple crises simultaneously.

"We're really making people's lives better on a very basic level," she explained. "But we're also shifting the culture around food and climate."

From Emergency Response to Sustainable Impact

While Support + Feed emerged as a COVID-19 response, it was far from a temporary solution. Maggie's lifelong passion for cooking, deep environmental consciousness, and extensive behind-the-scenes tour experience created a powerful convergence: climate-friendly meals that simultaneously nourish people and strengthen local economies.

The organization operates on four core principles that demonstrate how social impact can be both comprehensive and practical:

Meals with Meaning: Support + Feed partners with community organizations in food apartheid areas—neighborhoods that have been systemically isolated from nutritious food due to cost barriers and limited access.

Climate and Equity United: All meals are plant-based by design, supporting both individual health outcomes and lower-carbon food choices that benefit the planet.

Worker Dignity: Restaurants receive fair compensation for their services, while farmers are supported through both produce purchases and "food rescue" distribution programs.

Education as Amplification: Beyond meal distribution, the organization provides practical guidance through recipes and initiatives like the Support + Feed Pledge, which encourages participants to eat one plant-based meal daily for 30 days.

Maggie had just returned from hosting a free farmers market when she joined the podcast recording. The model exemplifies simplicity and joy: fresh produce, genuine community connection, and minimal barriers to participation. It represents both immediate relief and a cultural reframe—demonstrating that sustainable choices can create more pleasant, more communal ways of living.

Transforming the Music Industry

Many people first recognize Maggie as Billie Eilish's mother, and she embraces that role while leveraging it for systemic change. She's the woman supporting the artist who demanded climate-conscious touring practices before they became mainstream industry standards.

Working strategically with organizations like REVERB and Live Nation, Maggie has helped ensure that plant-based catering, comprehensive waste reduction, and sustainable merchandise are integral components of Billie's tours. Venues are engaged upfront about their sustainability commitments—not as afterthoughts, but as fundamental deal points.

"The O2 went fully plant-based for six of Billie's shows," Maggie notes with evident pride. "Manchester Arena followed suit. Several U.S. venues have embraced these changes enthusiastically. The chefs are genuinely excited—this represents a shift they want to be part of."

This success demonstrates that climate-friendly change doesn't require sacrifice. When implemented thoughtfully, it enhances creativity, strengthens community, and creates superior experiences for fans.

Navigating Public Scrutiny

Despite these achievements, Maggie remains candid about the intense pressures facing public figures who advocate for change. Speak out on important issues, and face criticism. Remain silent, and face different criticism. Make any imperfect decision, and watch the internet respond with swift judgment.

She references the occasional compromises required during touring—such as taking a last-minute private flight after extreme weather forced a cancellation in Mexico City. "The headlines rarely tell the complete story," she observes with measured frustration.

This reality drives Support + Feed's focus on approachable, incremental change. Their pledge asks for just one plant-based meal per day, not a complete lifestyle overhaul. The goal is making better choices accessible and manageable, not overwhelming or intimidating.

"We must celebrate progress, not punish imperfection," Maggie emphasizes, articulating a philosophy that could benefit many advocacy movements.

Parenting with Presence

The conversation sparked particular enthusiasm when it turned to Maggie's approach to parenting Billie and Finneas. She and her husband never harbored grand ambitions for their children's fame. Instead, they concentrated on presence: offering time, attention, and the freedom to pursue authentic passions.

"All children fundamentally want time and attention," she reflects. "That's what we provided them. Then we followed their lead wherever it took us."

Homeschooling created space for their children to explore music deeply, alongside brief forays into animation, gymnastics, and other interests. Bartering handyman services for music lessons and trading cooking skills for training opportunities made enriching experiences possible even on a constrained budget. From this resourceful creativity emerged two artists with distinctive voices and a family culture rooted in equity and intellectual curiosity.

Redefining Success

Maggie's personal career trajectory has been intentionally non-linear. She has performed in regional theater, taught improvisation at the Groundlings, written an independent film, and navigated the annual challenge of securing health insurance as a "working-class actor." Looking back, she expresses genuine gratitude for this path.

"If I had achieved greater success as an actor, I wouldn't have raised the children I have, or started the nonprofit we built together," she reflects thoughtfully. "My lack of conventional 'success' provided the space to focus on what matters most deeply to me."

This perspective offers a refreshing counter-narrative to traditional definitions of achievement, suggesting that the most meaningful impact often emerges from unexpected places and unplanned detours.