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Lori Loughlin is breaking her silence in her first non-acting television appearance since the highly publicized college admissions scandal.
In Project Angel Food’s “Lead with Love 3” telethon, broadcasted on Los Angeles’ KTLA 5 Saturday night, Loughlin shared how she’s partnered with Project Angel Food to help combat food insecurity in Los Angeles County by volunteering to help them deliver more than 1 million tailored meals each year to people in need.
The clip, which showed off a “day in the life” of a Project Angel Food volunteer, saw the Full House actress as she packed up food and delivered it to those in need.
“I’ve been working with Project Angel Food for a year and a half now, and it’s been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life,” Loughlin shared. “I got to work everywhere — packed a lot of cereal, and I’ve packed a lot of fruit. Bags and bags of fruit.”
Her favorite part of volunteering, the 57-year-old actress shared, is making deliveries. Loughlin revealed that she delivers meals to the same people every week, and has developed a connection with the people she services along her route.
“My favorite is doing the deliveries,” she revealed. “I have the same delivery route, once a week, and I see the same people, and it’s so nice to make that connection with those people. Often, they are unable to leave their homes.”
Loughlin continued, “They are somewhat isolated, especially during the pandemic. Just that human connection, and just spending time with them, and ‘How are you doing? How are you feeling? What else can we do for you?’”
The segment also featured a testimonial from a woman that Loughlin delivers meals to, who thanked Project Angel Food for being there for her during a difficult time in her life.
“I didn’t really eat for a couple years ’cause I had a little blip,” the woman said before greeting Loughlin with a hug. “I literally didn’t eat anything and because of Project Angel Food, bringing foods that cover all bases, and I’m well and happy and healthy, and I have Project Angel Food to thank for that.
Loughlin became emotional when she shared how Project Angel Food impacted her own life, and the community and family she created there were there for her during a time where she was feeling “particularly down and broken.”
“And I think that’s what Project Angel Food is,” Loughlin went on to say. “Working with people, who have hit a low in their life, facing extreme illness, or have lost their job during the pandemic, Project Angel Food, is there for them.”
“It is a community, it is a family, and all the people that work here are so wonderful. They have welcomed me with such open arms at a time when I was feeling particularly down and broken. That’s how I found a home here, and that’s what I feel like they did for me, and that’s why I’m so proud to be here and working with this organization, because they really do care. It’s really a community.”
Loughlin added, “It’s more than just feeing people, it’s about loving people and helping people. And I think, that is so important, and I am so proud to be a part of Project Angel Food.”
The star-studded telethon, which raised nearly $1.2 million during its two-hour broadcast, included appearances from Richard Gere, Whoopi Goldberg and Sharon Stone, as well as performances from Debbie Gibson, Josh Groban and more.
See more from the two-hour telethon in the video below.
Loughlin’s emotional Lead with Love appearance marks the first time she’s publicly referenced her involvement and subsequent arrest in the college admissions scandal organized by Rick Singer in 2019.
Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, paid $500,000 in bribes to get their daughters, Isabella Rose and Olivia Jade, admitted to the University of Southern California as recruits for the crew team, though neither of them had ever participated in the sport. They initially pled not guilty to all charges leveled against them, claiming their payments were donations to the school and not bribes. Lori and Mossimo were arrested in March 2019 and later pled guilty in May 2020.
Loughlin served two months in jail, paid a $150,000 fine, and had to complete 150 hours of community service. Mossimo was sentenced to five months in jail, paid a $250,000 fine, and served 250 hours of community service.
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