Before Nikki Reed starred in the $ 3.3 billion dollar Twilight franchise , the now-26-year-old actress was more of a regular at McDonalds than Nobu - and she was n't exactly splurging on super-size meals . ' I grew up eating off the dollar menu at every fast food restaurant , ' she told Yahoo Style . 'When you have a single mother that makes $ 15,000 a year for her two kids in a major city like Los Angeles , money runs out quickly . ' If her mother could have afforded organic vegetables she would have bought them , Nikki says , adding that they simply did n't have the money to be healthy while she was growing up . Scroll down for video . Kids meals : Nikki Reed , 26 , says her family could n't afford to buy healthy food while she was growing up in LA , so she often ate off the dollar menu at fast food restuarants . That 's why Nikki and her fiancé Ian Somerhalder , 36 , who have been engaged since January , became involved with US-based Thrive Market , a 'socially conscious online store ' that sells natural and organic products at wholesale prices . For every paid membership , the site offers a free one to a low-income family - and so far has signed up 650,000 members since November 2014 . Nikki 's upbringing also encouraged her to develop a love of animals ; the big screen star often adopts pets from shelters , or adopts and fosters them with Ian and her mother . Whirlwind romance : Nikki and Vampire Diaries star Ian Somerhalder got engaged in January after dating for six months . Full house : Nikki has joked that she has a farm in her house , including two horses , six dogs , and a cat . 'My mom deserves every bit of credit , ' Nikki says . 'She basically takes in any and everything that has a heartbeat . ' Nikki followed suit , fostering and adopting animals during the past decade , including dogs , cats , horses , and even rats . More recently , Nikki built a guest house on her LA property where her mom could live and help her take care of her many pets . The actress even testified at California ’ s State Capitol in early March in support of Assembly Bill 147 , or the Research Animal Adoption Bill , which would help animals that have been tested on find homes . Girl 's best friend : The actress , pictured here with one of her many dogs , spends a lot of time working with animal nonprofits like the ASPCA . Puppy face : Nikki says she recently spent three days trying to figure out how to rescue a group of dogs ( not pictured ) from an animal center in Georgia before they were killed . While fans may be surprised that Nikki dedicates so much of her time to her furry friends , it 's actually a lot closer to her initial career dreams than acting - her next film , The Sunday Horse , comes out later this year - producing - she has a new production company with Ian - and directing - her documentary Think Normal appeared on ESPN last year . ' I wanted to be a vet and take care of animals , ' says the star , who made her acting debut as a teenager in the indie film Thirteen . ' I did n't ever think of myself as an actress . '
Nikki 's mother raised her and her younger brother on $ 15,000 a year . The actress , six , and her fiancé Ian Somerhalder have have partnered with an organic food service that donates memberships to needy families . She built a guest house for her mom at her Los Angeles home so she could help take care of Nikki 's many adopted and foster animals .