A California Couple Fundraised Over $20 Million on Facebook to Help Reunite Families Separated at the US Border

Kat Armstrong
Jun 25, 2018

In mid-June, a couple in Silicon Valley, California, launched a Facebook fundraiser to reunite separated immigrant families. Now, that fundraiser has surpassed its initial $1,500 goal 10,000 fold, having raised over $20 million in what is now the most viral fundraiser in Facebook’s history.

Like many Americans over the last several weeks, Charlotte and Dave Willner were shocked into action over the separation of families crossing into the US on foot, with children being detained separately from their parents. And with so many charities to choose from, the Willners opted to do something to specifically help reunite the parents and their children separated by ICE border agents by raising funds for the immigration legal support organization, RAICES.

“I just could not imagine not finding a way to welcome those families and particularly to keep those children with their parents, regardless of where you stand on immigration law,” Dave Willner toldNBC. Many people clearly agreed: “Reunite an immigrant parent with their child” began trending on Facebook almost immediately after the fundraising page was created.

The fundraiser’s initial $1,500 goal reflects the minimum amount needed to cover bond fees for one parent to be able to collect a child from government custody while awaiting an immigration hearing. And while the Willners’ original goal was soon surpassed, the couple didn’t expect that it would become the biggest fundraiser in the social network’s history — which at one point last week saw donations pour in at nearly $4,000 per minute. 

Jonathan Ryan, the executive director of RAICES, told NBC News that the funds raised are nearly three times more than their previous operating budget of seven million dollars for all of 2016. Ryan further stated that the organization is both thankful for the donations and aware of its responsibility to be transparent about how those funds are being spent, moving forward.

“We’re very serious about this undertaking and making sure that we deliver these funds transparently, in a way that will have impact and in a way that is sustainable,” he said explaining that the organization plans to use the money to pay bonds of people arrested in order to get them the ability to find their children and to set up a system to ensure that these separations don’t happen again.

(Photo via Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Bold Steps from New Zealand PM and Internet Companies School the World in How to Fight Terror

The government of New Zealand, along with the country’s major broadband providers are working to silence the hate speech created by the Australian terrorist accused in Friday’s Christchurch mosque attacks. Videos of the attacks, along with a 74-page, anti-Muslim, white supremacist manifesto have been repeatedly published, and removed, from various online platforms. And, in her latest show of leadership, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has vowed to deny the shooter the notoriety he clearly wanted by refusing to mention his name.

“He is a terrorist. He is a criminal. He is an extremist,” Ardern said in an address to Parliament on Tuesday, March 19. “But he will, when I speak, be nameless.”

“And to others, I implore you,” she added, “speak the names of those who were lost, rather than the name of the man who took them. He may have sought notoriety, but we in New Zealand will give him nothing. Not even his name.”

New Zealand’s three largest internet providers, Vodaphone NZ, Spark, and 2degrees, voiced a similar perspective in an open letter to Jack Dorsey (Twitter), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), and Sundar Pichai (Google, which owns YouTube), dated March 19.

“You may be aware that on the afternoon of Friday 15 March, three of New Zealand’s largest broadband providers, Vodafone NZ, Spark and 2degrees, took the unprecedented step to jointly identify and suspend access to web sites that were hosting video footage taken by the gunman related to the horrific terrorism incident in Christchurch,” the letter reads.

The letter goes on to acknowledge how, in the global marketplace, this decisive effort at content restriction marks an “extraordinary step” in limiting access to harmful material. Yet, the leaders behind these three New Zealand broadband companies remain steadfast in the belief that taking this step was “the right thing to do.” Their letter implores the three powerful tech CEOs to consider doing the same on their respective social media platforms, as a general practice.

“Although we recognize the speed with which social network companies sought to remove Friday’s video once they were made aware of it, this was still a response to material that was rapidly spreading globally and should never have been made available online,” the letter continues. “We believe society has the right to expect companies such as yours to take more responsibility for the content on their platforms.”

The Association of New Zealand Advertisers agreed, releasing a statement explaining that local businesses would consider pulling their advertising dollars from Facebook if the company didn’t take immediate action to silence hate speech.

“The events in Christchurch raise the question — if the site owners can target consumers with advertising in microseconds, why can’t the same technology be applied to prevent this kind of content being streamed live?” the group said in a statement, according to The New York Times.

In response, Facebook VP and Deputy General Counsel, Chris Sonderby penned a blog post on the company’s site, explaining how Facebook is working to remove videos like the one the shooter uploaded while the Christchurch attack was happening.

“We removed the attacker’s video within minutes of their outreach to us, and in the aftermath, we have been providing an on-the-ground resource for law enforcement authorities,” the post says. “We will continue to support them in every way we can. In light of the active investigation, police have asked us not to share certain details.”

The Facebook blog post also outlined how Friday’s video became viral (and out of Facebook’s hands) so quickly: a user of the website 8chan posted a link to a copy of the video to a file sharing site before Facebook was even notified of the video’s existence. Sonderby also writes that the company helped other social networks identify the video to get it removed, and have been working in conjunction with the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT) to be proactive about curbing terror and extremism online.

(Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty)

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Meghan Markle And Prince Harry's Connection Is From A Fairy Tale – See Their Full Relationship Timeline Here

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's relationship has captivated us throughout the years. Their story has love, family, loss, and of course, royalty. But how did the Duke and Duchess of Sussex come to be the powerful, independent couple they are today? Here's everything we know about the pair's relationship timeline, starting from the first time they met!

Mike Coppola / Getty Images for 2022 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Gala

July 2016: Meghan and Harry meet

After initially meeting on Instagram (a classic plot point for 21st century relationships), Meghan and Harry met for a first date in London.

“I was scrolling through my feed and someone who was a friend had this video of the two of them [and Meghan], it was like a Snapchat,” Harry said of is digital introduction to Meghan in the Harry & Meghan Netflix docuseries. He remembers asking himself, "Who is that?"

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November 2016: Meghan and Harry reveal they are officially dating

It was an official statement from Kensington Palace that confirmed Meghan and Harry's relationship.

At the time, Meghan faced mass amounts of sexist and racist backlash through the media for her association with the royal family. Kensington Palace denounced the hate in a statement:

“Some of this has been very public — the smear on the front page of a national newspaper; the racial undertones of comment pieces; and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and Web article comments,” the statement read. “Some of it has been hidden from the public — the nightly legal battles to keep defamatory stories out of papers; her mother having to struggle past photographers in order to get to her front door; the attempts of reporters and photographers to gain illegal entry to her home and the calls to police that followed; the substantial bribes offered by papers to her ex-boyfriends; the bombardment of nearly every friend, coworker, and loved one in her life.”

Despite the hate, Meghan and Harry persevered as a couple.

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September 2017: Meghan shines a light on her relationship with Harry

Meghan revealed even more information about her connection with Harry in a Vanity Faircover story in September 2017.

“We’re a couple. We’re in love,” she told Vanity Fair. “I’m sure there will be a time when we have to come forward and present ourselves, and have stories to tell, but I hope what people will understand is that this is our time. This is for us. It’s part of what makes it so special, that it’s just ours. But we’re happy. Personally, I love a great love story.”

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November 2017: Meghan and Harry are engaged

Meghan officially moved to London in the fall of 2017 and the couple announced their engagement not long after.

Harry proposed to Meghan at Nottingham Cottage on the grounds of Kensington Palace with a ring made from two of Princess Diana's diamonds, and she said "yes" on the spot!

An official statement from the palace detailed their engagement further:

“His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales is delighted to announce the engagement of Prince Harry to Ms. Meghan Markle,” it read. “His Royal Highness and Ms. Markle became engaged in London earlier this month. Prince Harry has informed Her Majesty The Queen and other close members of his family. Prince Harry has also sought and received the blessing of Ms. Markle's parents.”

Meghan recalled the moment Harry proposed on the Harry & Meghan Netflix docuseries:

“He’s down on one knee and I was like, ‘Yes!’ I was so joyful and excited. I was like, ‘Ah we’re doing this."

Ben Birchall / Getty Images

May 2018: Meghan and Harry’s wedding

Meghan and Harry got married at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. They admitted a few years later that they had actually exchanged vows three days before they walked down the aisle, for the sake of privacy.

“No one knows that,” Meghan said in an interview with Oprah Winfrey. “We called the archbishop and just said, look, this thing, this spectacle is for the world, but we want our union between us, so the vows that we have framed in our room are just the two of us in our backyard with the archbishop of Canterbury.”

Millions of people tuned in for their televised wedding ceremony on May 19, 2018.

October 2018: Meghan announced her first pregnancy

On October 15, 2018, Kensington Palace released a statement informing the public that Meghan and Harry were expecting their first child the following spring.

The news broke while Meghan and Harry were on a 16-day royal tour through Australia, Fiji, Tonga, and New Zealand. The pair returned home and settled in at Windsor Castle's Frogmore Cottage to start prepping for the baby.

Dominic Lipinski / Getty Images

May 2019: Meghan and Harry welcome their first child

The couple welcomed their first son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, on May 6, 2019."We are pleased to announce that Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcomed their firstborn child in the early morning on May 6th, 2019. Their Royal Highnesses’ son weighs 7lbs. 3oz," an Instagram post from @sussexroyal read. "The Duchess and baby are both healthy and well, and the couple thank members of the public for their shared excitement and support during this very special time in their lives."

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January 2020: The couple steps back from their roles in the royal family

After "many months" of deliberation, Meghan and Harry had decided to "transition" from the royal family in early 2020.

In an official statement, they shared their plans to step back as ‘senior’ members of the royal family, become financially independent from Her Majesty, and split time between the United States and United Kingdom.

"This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity," the statement read. "We look forward to sharing the full details of this exciting next step in due course, as we continue to collaborate with Her Majesty The Queen, The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Cambridge and all relevant parties."

They moved to the U.S. a couple months later, staying in Montecito, California until they bought a home in Santa Barbara in the summer of 2020.

November 2020: Meghan announced she had a miscarriage with her second child

Meghan admitted she experienced a miscarriage with her second pregnancy, writing in a vulnerable New York Times op-ed essay that the loss of her second pregnancy with Prince Harry felt like “an almost unbearable grief.”

“I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second,” Meghan wrote. “Hours later, I lay in a hospital bed, holding my husband’s hand. I felt the clamminess of his palm and kissed his knuckles, wet from both our tears. Staring at the cold white walls, my eyes glazed over. I tried to imagine how we’d heal.”

March 2021: Interview with Oprah

The couple sat down for a very candidinterview with Oprah in March 2021, coming clean on multiple topics that had arose since living in the public eye. From Meghan’s mental health to the dynamic of the royal family – including the racism Meghan had experienced since becoming a member – they spoke honestly.

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June 2021: Meghan and Harry welcome their daughter, Lilibet

The pair publicly announced their second pregnancy in February 2021, welcoming their daughter, Lilibet Diana Mountbatten Windsor, a few months later.

Lilibet was born on June 4, 2021 in Santa Barbara, California.

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June 2022: Meghan and Harry attend the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

Meghan and Harry headed to Buckingham Palace for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, marking their first joint appearance in the U.K. in over two years at that point.

The two weren’t publicly mingling with other senior royalty in attendance, though they reportedly introduced Lilibet to the Queen in private during their trip.

"They aren't part of the [working] royal family anymore, and that's a decision they have taken — but maybe [the public] hasn't quite accepted that yet," a source close to the couple told Peoplein 2022. "Yes, they were low-key. They paid their respects and went home."

September 2022: Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral

Meghan and Harry were called to Windsor Castle on September 8, 2022, shortly after Queen Elizabeth II passed away at age 96.

They briefly reunited with Kate Middleton and Prince William to support the royal family amid the news. According to Kensington Palace, the rare meeting was actually William's idea, with a source noting that it "was an important show of unity at an incredibly difficult time for the family."

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December 2022: The Harry & Meghan docuseries drops

The first volume Meghan & Harry Netflix docuseries hit screens on December 8, 2022. The pair addressed their full love story, their new family, and dived deeper on their reasons for distancing from the royal family in the three-part series.

Gareth Cattermole / Getty Images

March 2023: Meghan and Harry were told to leave their royal residence in the U.K.

Meghan and Harry were asked to “vacate” Frogmore Cottage in the spring of 2023.

"We can confirm The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been requested to vacate their residence at Frogmore Cottage," a spokesperson for the couple's Archewell Foundation told People.

Andrew Chin / Getty Images

January 2024: The truth comes to light about Queen Elizabeth’s blessing for Meghan and Harry’s daughter’s name

An inside source disputed the claim that the late Queen Elizabeth had not given Meghan and Harry her blessing to name their daughter after her known nickname, Lilibet.

“Meghan and Harry 100 percent got permission from the queen to use the name Lilibet,” the insider said. “The report is not true. [Harry and Meghan] don’t know where this is coming from...They’re shocked that this is coming now; it seems out of nowhere and out of left field. They just feel like it’s more of the same spear campaign that continues against them.”

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March 2024: Meghan and Harry were in Austin, Texas for SXSW

Meghan was slated to speak on a South by Southwest panel for International Women’s Day 2024, so she and Harry traveled to Austin, Texas.

While they were in Austin, the couple had a date night at Soho House Austin.

“They were happy and in great spirits,” an eyewitness told People. “Harry was very animated throughout the dinner. They were super low key and seemed happy to be around the upbeat vibes at the lively venue.”

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Lead photo by Chris Jackson / Getty Images for Invictus Games Foundation.

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The US Government Is Still Breaking Up Families at the Border, But Not Without a Fight

Last week, Kirstjen Nielsen, the Homeland Security Secretary, testified once again in front of Congress in an attempt to justify the federal government’s ongoing actions against undocumented people at the border. Among her assertions, Nielsen said that the chain-link enclosures used to hold undocumented children could not really be described as cages, and that some parents who had been separated from their children at the border were subsequently deported without their kids. These grim updates to the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance” policy of immigrant family separation shortly preceded a report from the New York Times that revealed the extent to which family separation remains ongoing — despite a federal judge’s order to halt the practice some nine months ago.

“The latest data reported to the federal judge monitoring one of the most controversial of President Trump’s immigration policies shows that 245 children have been removed from their families since the court ordered the government to halt routine separations under last spring’s ‘zero tolerance’ border enforcement policy,” reads the March 9 Times report.

The Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP) reports that the total number of immigrant children removed from their families since the summer of 2018 may be even higher. In the six months after Trump issued an Executive Order to end the practice, the organization interviewed nearly 10,000 immigrants and asylum-seekers who entered US border custody at or near McAllen, Texas. Through that process, the TCRP identified 272 adults who said they had been forcibly separated from one or more children under the age of 18.

“The government has admitted what we’ve known for months: they never stopped separating families who came to this country seeking safety,” Efrén C. Olivares, the Racial and Economic Justice Program Director at Texas Civil Rights Project, said in a statement made available to us. “The Trump Administration has tried every strategy it can think of in our courts to continue taking children away from their parents, with no transparency about how these decisions are made, no plan to reunite them, and no accountability.”

According to the TCRP, among the 272 adults they spoke to who said they had been separated from child family members, 38 were parents or legal guardians who reported being separated from a total of 46 children were separated. 25 of these children were reportedly under the age of 10. The youngest infant impacted was 8.5 months old at the time of separation from her mother.

“To date, the government has not reported these children to anyone — neither to the courts nor to Congress — and the government has admitted it may be impossible to find all separated children,” TCRP reports.

The TCRP report recounts an interview with a father who was allegedly separated from his seven-year-old son because of a misdemeanor conviction for battery over 10 years ago. Another father was reportedly separated from his one-year-old daughter and nine-year-old son on “uncorroborated allegations of gang affiliation.” A woman, who fled her country because she was being held captive as a sexual slave, was reportedly separated from her child because officials said she was “a danger to society and unfit to be a parent” after they learned she had shot her captor non-fatally in self-defense. The list goes on and on.

According to NBC News, immigration officials can separate children “if the adult is not the parent or legal guardian of the child” and “if the safety of the child is at risk or because of ‘serious criminal activity’ by the adult.” Legal recourse can be limited for these parents.

But there is hope. Earlier this year, we reported that several law firms including the Southern Poverty Law Center have filed a lawsuit on behalf of 10,000 detained immigrant children due to allegations of unfit facilities, illegal prolonged stays, sexual abuse, and much more.

On March 8, in a promising victory for undocumented families, US District Judge Dana Sabraw ruled in favor of a separate lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) against the Trump administration and said that “all migrant families separated during the government’s border crackdown should be included in a class-action lawsuit,” the Texas Tribunereports.

“The hallmark of a civilized society is measured by how it treats its people and those within its borders,” Sabraw wrote in a 14-page ruling. “That Defendants may have to change course and undertake additional effort to address these issues does not render modification of the class definition unfair; it only serves to underscore the unquestionable importance of the effort and why it is necessary (and worthwhile).”

(Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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Every Pop Culture Reference In Taylor Swift's "The Tortured Poets Department," Explained.

Taylor Swift loves to reference the past in her songs. Every new album adds another layer to a whole web of lore (as the kids say), and The Tortured Poets Department is no different! There are enough pop culture references to to keep you glued to Google for the whole weekend, which is why I read every single lyric to decode each movie and literary reference so you don't have to! Keep reading for the full scoop from our fearless leader: The Chairman of the Department ;).

Literary References In The Tortured Poets Department

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Down Bad — "Did You Take All My Old Clothes, Just To Leave Me Here, Naked And Alone"

While "Down Bad" feels like a reference to aliens, it's also reminding us of the story of Adam and Eve, who were left naked in the Garden of Eden after eating the Fruit of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The "experiments" Taylor Swift references in the first verse (plus the "Fortnight" music video) are also giving Mary Shelley/Frankenstein!

Image via Amazon

So Long, London — "You Left Me At The House By The Heath"

Hampstead Heath is a beautiful area of London that reportedly inspired C.S. Lewis to write The Chronicles of Narnia in the late 30s and early 40s. As Narnia's self-proclaimed biggest fan, I'm totally claiming this indirect literary reference, especially since the Pevensies have to stay at the Professor's house when they're evacuated from London.

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I Hate It Here — "I Hate It Here So I Will Go To Secret Gardens In My Mind People Need A Key To Get To"

This Taylor Swift song is all about wishing she was somewhere else during an early period of her life, and referencing The Secret Garden makes total sense. In the book, lead character Mary has to access the Secret Garden to discover the hope, joy, and healing she's lost.

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thanK you aIMee — "I Pushed Each Boulder Up The Hill"

This seems to be another Greek mythology reference, this time to Sisyphus. He was forced by the gods to roll a boulder up a hill — and then do it again when it rolled back down. Considering this song seems to reference Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, and the drama that led to Reputation, it feels like a reference to the feud that rears its head over and over again.

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Cassandra — "So They Killed Cassandra First Cause She Feared The Worst And Tried To Tell The Town"

In Greek mythology, Cassandra (whose name means "she who entangles men," FYI) was a beautiful woman, and princess of Troy. The god Apollo falls in love with her, and gives her the power of prophecy — that is, until she rejects him and he turns the gift into a curse where no one believes her anymore.

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The Bolter — "She Fell Through The Ice, Then Came Out Alive"

This is another indirect literary reference I'm claiming that totally reminds me of Amy March from Little Women. Amy falls through the ice when the March sisters are all children living in Massachusetts. Fans have historically hated her character, which is tied to the "A curious child, ever reviled // By everyone except her own father" lyric.

Movie References In Taylor Swift's New Album

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My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys — "I Felt More When We Played Pretend Than With All The Kens"

The internet has claimed Taylor Swift as the real-world version of Barbie, and after last year's blockbuster hit (and Taylor referencing Ken in "Hits Different") we get another nod to our favorite doll. Plus, this song reminds me of Syd from Toy Story destroying his toys, and "he was my best friend down at the sandlot" got me thinking about The Sandlot. So many movie references, so little time!

Image via Michele K Short/Sony

Guilty As Sin? — "How Can I Be Guilty As Sin?"

Taylor Swift wrote "Carolina" for the book-to-movie adaptation of Where The Crawdads Sing. In "Carolina," she sings that Kya's community has "said that I was guilty as sin and sleep in a liar’s bed.”

More Pop Culture References

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  • The Tortured Poets Department — Taylor Swift mentions poet & writer Dylan Thomas, singer-songwriter & poet Patti Smith, and American singer Charlie Puth, boygenius singer Lucy Dacus, producer Jack Antonoff.
  • But Daddy I Love Him — This is a line in both The Little Mermaid and The Notebook.
  • Florida!!! — Florence Welch is featured on this song, which mentions a hurricane. Florence + The Machine has a song titled "Hurricane Love."
  • Guilty As Sin? — Taylor also references "The Downtown Lights" by The Blue Nile, as well as the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus in The Bible.
  • Who's Afraid Of Little Old Me — Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf revolves around a bitter and aging couple who weaponize the youth of their guests against one another.
  • loml — "The coward claimed he was a lion" is a reference to The Wizard of Oz, while "Mr. Steal Your Girl" is a Trey Songz track.
  • I Can Do It With A Broken Heart — This whole song is about Taylor Swift's Eras Tour.
  • The Alchemy + The Prophecy — In Taylor Swift's TIME interview, she references Harry Potter, which has huge themes around alchemy and prophecies.
  • Clara Bow — This song references Clara Bow, Stevie Nicks, and Taylor herself!
  • So High School — Taylor Swift Mentions video game Grand Theft Auto, Artistotle, and American Pie. She also mentions games like Kiss Marry Kill, Truth or Dare, and Spin the Bottle

Which of these pop culture references in The Tortured Poets Department is your favorite? Check out the latest news on the album here!

Lead image via Amazon

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15 Light Lunch Ideas For A Midday Pick-Me-Up

Hearty dinner recipes are always going to be high on our list, but spring and summer tend to call for light lunch ideas to keep us energized and able to enjoy longer hours of sunshine everyday. I'll be the first to say that eating chicken pasta or pizza for lunch often makes me feel sluggish, so I try to stay away from them during the work day. Not only that, but I've noticed I feel better when I eat something that's a little fresher and healthier. If your summer plans include having as much energy as possible, here's 15 light lunch ideas to help you successfully get through your days!

Light Lunch Ideas: Tasty Salads

Chicken Tzatziki Avocado Salad

Light lunch ideas don't have to be tasteless just because they don't cause you to feel sleepy in the middle of the day. One of the best ways to enjoy something tasty is to make a Mediterranean dish. This chicken tzatziki avocado salad is full of season, roasted chicken, feta, kale, and creamy tahini sauce. (via Half Baked Harvest)

Roasted Golden Beet Salad with Farro

This recipe had us at goat cheese! If you haven't had a chance to try it yet, this roasted golden beet salad with farro is a great way to introduce it to your palate. It also features shallots, thyme, and honey to balance out the crunch you'll get from the almonds! (via Brit + Co)

Chicken Cobb Salad

Add this chicken cobb salad your list of non-complicated light lunch ideas! It's full of tasty ingredients like avocados, cherry tomatoes, and eggs that'll hit the spot during lunchtime. (via Brit + Co)

Strawberry and Asparagus Salad with Chicken

Your salad needs an upgrade that involves lightweight fruit like strawberries. You can always exclude the chicken if you've been eating a meatless diet. (via Completely Delicious)

Feta Green Goddess Pasta Salad with Grilled Chicken

We're not sure who made this rule but pasta salad just seems to be one of the light lunch ideas that works extremely well for summer. This recipe features a homemade green goddess dressing that lightly covers the delicious ingredients, making it one of our favorite meals. (via Whole and Heavenly Oven)

Smashed Potato Spring Salad with Creamy Lemon Dressing

We love that this smashed potato spring salad can be eaten during summer. The Creamy lemon dressing complements the butter lettuce, asparagus, and green onions that you'll happily devour. (via Two Peas and Their Pod)

Simple Cold Pasta Salad

Simple light lunch ideas are the stuff that our summer dreams are made of. After all, meals like this cold pasta salad are great alternatives if you're truly looking for something quick and lightweight. (via Barley and Sage)

Summer Sesame Noodles

Is it a salad or noodle dish? Maybe it's both! One thing we know is that you'll get a ton of healthy vegetables and noodles drizzled in a sauce that has sesame paste, vinegar, and more! (via Gastro Plant)

Light Lunch Ideas: Creative Sandwiches, Tacos, and Wraps 

Breakfast Bagel Sandwich with Smoked Salmon

Skipped breakfast? It happens to the best of us! Make up for it during lunch with this breakfast bagel sandwich with smoked salmon. Our mouths are already craving the herbed cream cheese that's on it. (via Vikalinka)

Smoked Turkey Sandwich with Spicy Mayo

Craving a smoked turkey sandwich that has a kick to it? Make this dish for lunch, but don't forget to bring something soothing to drink that'll help counter the mayo's spiciness! (via The Original Dish)

Tasty Tacos

Tacos Rancheros

This is technically another breakfast meal, but we like to think that some meals can double as light lunch ideas! This is a great option if you have to eat lunch early. (via Vanilla and Bean)

Kale Chicken Caesar Wraps

You've never had chicken caesar like this before. The dressing doesn't have a ton of calories so you'll get to eat something that's healthy and yummy! (via The Girl on Bloor)

Light Lunch Ideas: Veggies

Garlic Parmesan Zucchini

Our mouths are watering looking at this garlic parmesan zucchini dish! The fresh garlic and parmesan make for a dish that's full of hearty flavors without making you feel sluggish. (via The Endless Meal)

Mediterranean Sweet Potatoes

Although these aren't considered sweet potato boats, you can think of them that way thanks to their shape. The spicy chickpeas in the center offset the sweetness of the sweet potatoes while the feta adds a lightweight flavor. (via Cozy Cravings)

Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Bowl

This roasted vegetable quinoa bowl is one of the best light lunch ideas we've come across and it's gluten-free! Not only does it feature sweet potatoes, but you'll also get to savor juicy yellow squash! (via Feel Good Foodie)

Follow us on Pinterest for more light lunch ideas to cook this summer!

Lead image via Vanilla and Bean

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