There are a lot of things that you can say about Jennifer Garner, but no one can say that she’s a mean girl or isn’t thoughtful. Jennifer became an Instagram darling over the pandemic with cooking videos and live segments featuring yoga and her famous friends. Jennifer has taken the high road following some of her ex’s recent comments and is minding her business. She is also focused on helping people who are fighting the pandemic. Jennifer recently shared a video where she made homemade cookies and delivered them to first responders at LAC+USC Medical Center. Below are a few more details from Yahoo! and the video is below:
“#FirstResponders are still in the thick of it and miles past burn out,” she captioned the TikTok. “We see you and appreciate you! ♥️ (Thank you, #LACUSC Emergency Med!)”
In the clip, Garner whips up a batch of cookies, then ties them in bags, which she places in a basket.
Shen then heads to the hospital and greets workers.
“I’m so sorry to take you away,” she says.
“I appreciate you,” she adds, before taking a group photo, with one person holding her basket of treats.
Garner has a reputation as a Nice Person, and her efforts here struck a chord.
“Beautiful inside & out,” one person commented on Instagram.
“You are such a kind and genuine person,” someone else wrote.
“You’re beyond wonderful!!!!!❤️❤️❤️,” commented Garner’s pal Ina Garten.
This is such a feel good story. As you all know, I love a celebrity who finds ways to give back. Those cookies look delicious. I really liked that Jennifer took the time to take pictures with the workers. Jennifer has been one of my favorite celebrity accounts to follow during the pandemic because of how Betty Homemaker she is. She is still doing the live meditation sessions on Instagram with Peloton’s Chelsea Jackson Roberts as well. I am sure the first responders at LACUSC appreciated Jennifer’s kind gesture. Jen is showing us how something as simple as homemade cookies can be a wonderful way to give thanks.
Photos credit: Avalon.red and Instar
she always seems so curated. Intentional. I donated a lot over the pandemic including sending food (not pizza, actual food) to hospitals, but I would never publicise it and post vids. I know this comment won’t go down well but she has worked that image and everyone falls for it.
Or maybe it’s to set an example and remind people that small gestures can go a long way. Thank you for what you’ve done as well.
Yeah, we need celebs to set a good example and hopefully inspire others to do the same.
I’m sure she donates a lot that she doesn’t share.
I agree totally, this is what people with power should model and we should expect it of them.
I believe it’s actually genuine with her, and note she doesn’t have a ton of make up on or her hair done, but even if it’s not, show your fans how they should behave. Appreciate health care first responders right now. Be kind.
No, I had the same thought. This is the same Jennifer Garner who did pap walks with her kids. It’s part of her pr image.
I’ve only seen pictures of her out with her kids at drop off, the farmer’s market, etc. How are those pap walks? She’s living her life as a mom.
Agreed. It’s common knowledge she stages pap walks. Even Heather from Juicy Scoop said its a known fact she staged many pap walks with her kids
Agreed 100% Chartreuse and Kalana! So calculated!
Oh thank you. There is absolutely nothing about her that is not calculated for her image. I have worked with celebrities. She is not nice.
Oh- do tell!
Yes, spill!
EXACTLY! That’s exactly how i feel about her. She posts everything or alerts the paps to every good deed she does. It makes it look very disingenuous. I’m all for good deeds but sharing it each time just makes her look so calculated. Its the same as when people go to other countries to hand out candy and food while they blast it all over instagram.
I agree. Why broadcast it?
I agree. I can’t put my fingers on it but there is just something profoundly fake about her
She may be genuine but that doesn’t mean she didn’t do it strategically. We know Ben’s campaigning for his Oscar nomination. And he did made a controversial comment that was taken out of context. At such crucial timing, what she did can also serve as a payback for him: you know, to set a public narrative tone, which we must all admit, she is very good at. It might also verify that she and her ex-husband have been at each other’s throat constantly. Not physically, but psychologically through narrative struggle. Oh, another angle can be Ben and JLo’s allegedly eminent engagement. We all know not everyone is a fan of Bennifer 2.0, despite his early PR to lay the narrative foundation (through racial pov). In fact, quite a few are actively mocking them, JLo especially. We don’t know Garner’s thought, but she might not like it and by doing this, she can set a narrative tone in contrast to Bennifer 2.0 and put public pressure on them.
I also wanted to add that the comment reaction of this post (and itself) and that post where Ben and JLo were doing charity work by delivering food to homeless people a couple months ago were stark contrast. People were mocking them, JLo especially.
@chartreuse Yes all celebs play the PR game, it’s part of their job, even the celebs people fawn over, though I’d rather see this type of stuff which can get people to do something similar or donate etc.
I’ve always loved Jennifer G. She’s kept her head high despite Ben dragging and blaming her at every turn. She’s remained moisturized and unproblematic. She’s the best Jennifer for me.
That’s a nice gesture – and I appreciate her being nice.
How anyone, including the two of them, thought she and Ben Affleck were a good match is beyond me.
Yup Affleck is a nasty piece of work and I say that as someone who fan followed him since 2000 and defended him to all. Glad she saw the light finally and hope JLo does before she goes down the dark path with him. I too like her Instagram and it’s refreshing to not see 100% selfies & glam shots like you see in others. I can appreciate how this post may seem like humble bragging but it did the trick for me. During the beginning of corona when everyone was mainly working from home I dropped some good chocolates off at my GP’s office and they were so appreciative it made ME feel great as well. I realized now it’s been almost two years later and they are all even more burned out so I need to do it again. Today.
Restaurants and bakeries have health and safety rules they must follow. Homeowners do not. Please don’t bake or cook for anyone other than your own family. Jennifer seems lovely, but does she follow food handling protocols?
That stuff probably ended up in the trash.
@Nikki, think you for saying that. I agree. It’s a very sweet gesture but I’m sure they would prefer something prepackaged / professionally made. Just in case.
Healthcare workers will eat whatever someone sends them. I’m a nurse and I have never seen anyone turn down free food because it wasn’t store bought. The fact that she individually wrapped the cookies was a nice touch though
Yes I agree with you. It’s a nice gesture but why not order food to be delivered to them instead?
@AJ,
I come from a family of Registered Nurses and have several friends who are RNs and other health care professionals. They wouldn’t touch the stuff. Perhaps this is cultural?
Also, I work for a municipality, residents have tried to “help out” and we can’t touch it unless it comes directly from the caterer, restaurant or is store-packaged.
@Nikki, I am so glad to know this. My husband was recently in the ER here and the nurses, techs, and doctors were wonderful under very trying circumstances. There is a great company locally that delivers cookies and I will order some today.
Thanks for your informed perspective, Nikki. She could have donated actual money but that’s not so Mother Theresa IG friendly.
Well,you don’t really know if she didn’t do that as well, do you? I do know as someone in a helping profession I prefer homemade cookies & food because they are more delicious but store bought is appreciated too. Money donated to the school is certainly appreciated but not in the same immediate “this brightens my day a bit, thanks” way. So I wouldn’t say money is the only way to go to show appreciation either.
I’m not a celebrity and I don’t make videos of my charity work, but the people in my life know the things I get up to and have told me I inspire them to do some of the same. If I had an actual platform people paid attention to, I’d love to give some extra push to the charities I care about. We shit on the celebs when they’re vacuous, then we shit on them when they try to inspire folks to give back. Making cookies for hospital staff is a small thing that anybody could do, I love this
The pandemic has been going on for so long, and people have stopped paying as much attention to healthcare workers, who have been going above and beyond this whole time. I’m glad she sent out a reminder that they still need our support.
While the gesture is sweet it’s pointless.
Garner has spoken to congress before. Why not again in favor of better working conditions. Proper wages. Proper benefits. Proper staffing. Absolutely no illegal overtime. This is why hospital staff are dropping like flies. This is why they’re burning out.
Another round of cookies, chocolates, pizzas is not what these people need. They barely have time to take a break and if they’re forced to take a break the stress of falling behind feels overwhelming.
But I’m sure she meant well documenting this kind act.
Thank you Wiglet Watcher! You saved me from having to type a response.
NP! This topic hits a raw nerve with me.
You can’t just ask Congress to hold a session for you to speak. Testimony before congressional committees happens when they are scheduled to have session/hearing on a specific matter.
Tiffany
Yes. And Garner has thrown her weight into causes to be heard by congress. I think the last was paps and kids privacy. She could throw her weight into this. A world wide and also national tragedy nurses live daily.
Garner did it. She was credited for bringing this to our elected officials attentions.
If nothing else, my point is giving nurses home baked cookies so you can tell everyone you care about first responders feels patronizing.
Yes, she has appeared before congress when they were having hearings about causes she was invested in, like early childhood education. But CONGRESS scheduled the hearing, not Garner. It’s kind of silly to think that celebrities should be guiding the schedule of congressional committees.
It sounds like you are stretching to make a dig at Garner, when she’s drawing attention to healthcare workers with her actions right now. I’m sure she’d go before Congress if they’d allow and if they were actually holding hearings on this matter right now, but they are not.
It was a nice little gesture, that she didn’t need to do, but she still took the time and I’m sure made many people happy. But of course the people commenting here, living clearly sad empty lives found reasons to be negative about it..
You don’t think that saying such harsh things about someone’s entire life because they weren’t nice on a gossip site is way meaner than criticizing a single gesture?
That’s Garner fans in a nutshell.
Jen does a lot of behind the scene volunteer work and I think this was her way of putting a light, positive story out there. I think she tries to keep her head high and move forward.
She was recently named Harvard University’s Woman of the Year and her list of accomplishments for Save the Children and several other organizations is very impressive.
Although, I agree that most hospitals etc. are not accepting home made cookies from random people especially during the pandemic. 😊
A thoughtful gesture is always good. It would be churlish to not show appreciation just because the gesture was not big enough. I’ve always admired Jennifer for the grace with which she has handled that ex-husband, and i like her sense of humour. She’s very relatable. Enjoyed quite a few of her cooking podcasts last year.
Even if it’s ‘calculated’ to curate an image, it’s a good and kind image she’s ‘creating’ so I’m all for it. She comes across as a sincere and thoughtful person. I like her.
I’m a healthcare worker. While cookies won’t save dying patients or pay for more beds and resources, they are still helpful and appreciated in their own way. Small gestures like this help healthcare workers get through rough shifts. I can guarantee you every single person in that hospital who personally met Jennifer or who even heard about what she did, would have been lifted up for the rest of their shift. Stories like this spread like wildfire in hospitals, as does the positive energy they bring. All of those healthcare workers would have had a little extra energy, a little extra compassion, and a little smile under their masks that day. Even if it is a PR stunt, if it helps healthcare workers feel valued, it’s worth it.
That’s really nice to hear. I hope everyone there felt the same, and it brought a bit of lightness to their day.
So glad to hear this and thank you for what you do.
We have been delivering fresh cookies (but made professionally) to all of our doctors and vet throughout the pandemic, as a way to say thanks. And shipped masks to my personal doc at the beginning of the pandemic when he was testing patients without PPE.
It is a small thing, isn’t changing the world at all, but I can’t change the world or I would.
Sam
I quit nursing during the pandemic from burnout.
Cookies never helped us. They made us feel sluggish. They were even gone before our shift or break. Many times we never got the food delivered because of protocols about outside food. Instead management too it. They were gestures for people who wanted praise imo for supporting the overworked.
Treats do not help health care workers imo. And if you have time to meet a celeb at your job… idk. How busy is it? I worried more about when I could buy groceries, do laundry or see my dogs. I cried from lack of sleep. I forgot what day it was for months. Maybe this is still too fresh for me. Meeting a celeb that baked cookies would not have made my day better.
Lovely gesture that was appreciated by those healthcare workers. The number of people putting a negative vibe on this is sad. Not just here but on social media as well. It literally costs nothing to skip past a post like this, instead of being a Debbie Downer and Negative Nancy. The world isn’t perfect. The healthcare system is at the breaking point. We know this. People don’t have to continually remind us how crappy things are. Being kind actually boosts people’s morales. If you can’t contribute to positivity, just keep your negativity to yourself.
While the gesture is appreciated, I can attest that NOT all health care workers (such as myself) will eat homemade food sent in by people/ patients/ patients family members. But it really is very kind and thoughtful of people to do nonetheless.
THIS. Most healthcare workers won’t touch homemade food, although they might make an exception for her because it would be a Big Deal if it were unclean/unsafe. Also, healthcare workers really love healthier treats. We get tons of pizza and baked goods, to the point where most of us won’t touch it anymore.
Hi, I am from Charleston, WV and I grew up doing community theater with Garner. Our mothers worked at the same college. I was about ten or 11, I think when she graduated high school, so we didn’t move in the same circles, but I knew of her and she helped me with make up once. Conor Knighton from CBS is of this same group of kids. Jennifer was always so nice and sweet. Even when we didn’t think we were going to get a production done because of budget cuts, she was always positive. Sometimes annoyingly so. 🙂 Some people called her Pollyanna.
That is so nice to hear! I really think that she is just really nice and true to what you see. She has gotten a lot of undeserved abuse over the years.
She’s an awesome person, I love her
Perfect is the enemy of good.
This was a gesture of appreciation and hopefully it brought a lift in spirits to those it was intended for.
She really is a sweet person. I used to work at the Natural History Museum in LA, when her kids were still young. She would come in like every other normal mom, wearing sneakers and jeans, and her girls always brought a little old-school notepad and pencil with them. They were a very polite and no-fuss family. Unlike most of the other famous people I’ve encountered over the years. I love Jen Garner!
My sister is a nurse and told me early on in the pandemic that she never ate anything in the break room that was homemade and brought in because you don’t know who brought it. That being said I’m sure a lot of people were excited to try those cookies.
Who doesn’t want homemade cookies? Women really get criticized for everything! Also I’m sure her kitchen is super clean and professionally cleaned daily. It’s weird that people are saying she should send mass produced, plastic wrapped, filled with preservatives and fake crap from stupid corporations instead of homemade goodies IMO. What has happened to our society where little Debbie is now healthier than homemade with real ingredients? I’m sure she isn’t poisoning healthcare workers! Relax !
It’s about health regulations, not about if her kitchen is dirty or not 🙄
Also Whole Foods doesn’t add preservatives, not everything store bought is crap.
Tiffany
Replying in landscape mode is difficult. Hope you find my reply.
Garner threw herself into that issue hard. Her kids were not at risk. The press was respectful of their faces. But she pushed to have a seat and speak. Garner relies on health care workers too. If she wanted to help that could be a better start.
Being a former healthcare worker who’s still traumatized from the early pandemic it just feels selfish to take the struggles of others and use that to promote yourself. Do something useful. Another commenter said healthy foods and it’s true. Cookies that everyone can paw through… during a pandemic…
Wiglet, my apologies, I think you are missing my point. She testified before the California legislature when the CA legislature was working on a bill addressing paparazzi, so she testified in support of the bill. Do you see? The legislature was already working on legislation, so they had a hearing where witnesses could speak. If no legislation is being considered, and no hearings are being held, Jennifer Garner can’t order congress to assemble so that she can speak into their microphones.
Your expectations are completely unrealistic. I sense that you don’t like her, and that is totally fine, but saying she shouldn’t do a small kind gesture and promote the recognition of health care workers because she’s not testifying in front of Congress is a step too far. It’s not reality based.
As an alcoholic in recovery, I fell in love with her for her handling of Ben. What a freakin’ nightmare for her and she’s been supportive and never blasted him. She’s on a major campaign social media wise for some reason, but she has a LOT that could have also thrown her into the public eye she chooses to handle with grace. If she wants kudos for cookies, by all means.