The monthly get-together of the Lancaster Vegan and Raw Food Potluck & Support Group is set for 6-8:30 p.m. Monday at the Kinzer Fire Hall, 3521 Lincoln Highway E., Kinzers.

There will be a demonstration of how to make delicious and healthy desserts.

All the desserts prepared will be gluten free, low-fat, low-sugar or sugar-free. Samples and recipes will be provided.

For the potluck, singles, couples and families of two should bring a 9-by-13-inch raw-food dish or an equivalent amount of food. Families of three or more should bring two 9-by-13-inch or equivalent dishes.

These raw-food dishes should be made with only fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, sprouted grains, herbs and spices and seasonings. They should exclude all animal products. A recipe or complete list of ingredients must accompany every dish.

Everyone should bring his or her own place setting, as well as a contribution of $2 per person or $4 per family toward the rental of the fire hall.

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Vegan and raw food potluck set for Monday in Kinzers - LancasterOnline

Written by PETA | April 14, 2017

In 2004, when we first heard singer JoJo, she had burst onto the music scene at the tender age of 13 and managed a number one hit single with Leave (Get Out). Now, she has re-emerged all grown upand that young teenager has become a confident, no-holds-barred vegan adult:

In promoting her 2017 world tour, she told FAULT Magazine:

I first was interested in a plant-based diet because of my voice. Im singing every night, and I wanted that to be easier for me. So, I cut out dairy first, and then I started talking to my vegan friend and I started to feel what they told me about how when you eat animal products, youre ingesting fear, death, and disease. I didnt feel good about doing that anymore. After reading Russell Simmons Happy Vegan and watching documentaries, I feel like its the choice for me.

Feeling inspired? Going vegan is easier than ever. Do your part foryour health,the environment, andanimals. Its never too early (or late) to make the kind, smart choice to eat a plant-based diet, giving your health a boost and sparing animals suffering. Its also never been easier to stop eating meat, eggs, and dairy foodsthere are countless compassionate options in grocery stores and restaurants across the country. PETA also has hundreds of free,delicious vegan recipesto try!

Send Me a Free Vegan Starter Kit

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JoJo Is All Grown Upand Vegan! - PETA (blog) (press release)

A new vegan student organization hopes to create an inclusive environment on campus.

By Natalie Betz

natalie-betz@uiowa.edu

Vegans on a large Big Ten campus such as the University of Iowas can now find a new way to support each other, thanks to a new vegan organization.

UI juniors Srehita Kotla and Tara Bendre recently introduced the new Vegan Society to help fellow students want to learn about vegan diets. The essence of the group is to allow conversations on various topics regarding veganism, especially the aspects that people dont consider, such as decreasing the worlds environmental footprint and eliminating stigmas around vegans, said Kotla, who has only been a vegan for six months but a vegetarian her whole life.

Despite having experience starting a new student organization, Kotla said, she wanted assistance in creating the new vegan society.

That led to her reaching out to Bendre, who was a good resource for Kotla at the beginning of Kotlas transition in learning how to maintain a vegan diet.

Bendre, who has been a vegan for around two years, said having similar people around her who are vegans is helpful, especially during the times when there are only few vegan substitutes. She wanted to create a group in Iowa City where vegans could support each other.

A vegan diet can have a big effect in lowering the worlds carbon footprint, and it has many nutritional benefits, said JoAnn Daehler-Miller, a dietitian at UI Student Health & Wellness.

A vegan diet is low saturated fat and trans fat, which helps lower heart disease. It is also high in fiber, which helps a variety of health issues and prevents constipation, she said. A healthy vegan diet is made up fruits, veggies, beans, whole grains, and other plant-based foods that allow the immune system to recover more quickly.

However, Daeler-Miller emphasized that veganism isnt for everyone. She said there have been students who have wanted to try a vegan diet but were allergic to nuts and disliked beans, so it wouldnt be as healthy for them to be a vegan.

If anyone does want to become a vegan, its important to encourage people to access resources so that they become attentive in order to receive all the nutrients they need, she said.

Besides providing support for other vegans, Kotla said, she would also like to organize panels, talks, and other discussion-based events, such as informative dinners with environmental-science faculty to discuss how a vegan diet could decrease the worlds environmental footprint.

Bendre said members want to collaborate with the Trumpet Blossom Caf to raise funds for the farm sanctuary in Marengo and organize group lunches at the vegan restaurant.

Additionally, they plan to host cooking demonstrations to help people learn how to cook vegan meals, as well as have video showings at box theaters and other group-focused events, she noted.

We said straight-up that all people are welcome; we really want to promote inclusivity, Bendre said. We are not taking an activist approach to the club. We dont want to encourage people to become vegan, we want to talk about what veganism is. We want to build a community and provide resources.

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Going vegan with friends for support - The Daily Iowan

TristynTate | Contributing Writer

At some point in time, we all become victim to falling back on food choices that are cheap and convenient, more so than whats the healthiest option, especially when we have the munchies. Despite the stereotype that vegans are limited and restricted in their diet, there are a significant amount of junk foods available to those with the dietary choice. Unbelievably, there are some products and services, even, that everyone knows and loves. More so than the veggie burger option, there are gooey movie theater candies, cheesy crunchy snacks, savorychocolatedeserts and numerous fast food chain restaurant optionsall that are 100 percent vegan.

Whats Considered Vegan?

Being vegan is either a diet, a lifestyle or both, depending on the individual making the choice. The diet alone is composed of foods that lack meat, dairy,eggsand other animal products. It is a controversial subject in the vegan community on whether the diet also abstains from honey, butbasically, vegans are said to just eat fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, beans,legumesand seeds. There are different types of vegan diets as well, which could make things even more limiting, but more so confusing. Some choose to be junk food vegans, eating highly processed foods, unlike the stereotype, and a lot like what I will list below for your pleasure. The fact that all vegans eat healthy, whole, plant-based foods is just not the case.

The lifestyle, however, involves the ethics and reasoning behind abstinence from consuming animal products: the environment and the animals within the environment. Therefore, individuals who live a vegan lifestyle may not choose to eat the products below even when theyve got the munchies because of the harmful effects their ingredients may have on the environment. The products may not have dairy or meat, but it may contain an ingredient such as palm oil, which is not an ethical choice due to its overproduction affecting the rapid decrease of rainforests and the extinction of the animals within the environment. Those with the vegan lifestyle are concerned with the world impact of their dietary choices.

Vegan Munchies

Whichever your choice, there are junk food options for you. The products listed below are a mixture thatcaterto both the lifestyle and the dietary choice of veganism. They are products made by brands we all know and love. Accidently vegan foods are the best tasting foods.

Microwave, Toaster or Oven-Made Food

For the vegan brands listed below, check out The Fresh Market or a Whole Foods near you.

Mac and Cheese: Daiya, Amys, Annies and Earth Balance Pizza: Amys and Daiya Soft Pretzels: SuperPretzel Soft Pretzels Others: Pop Tarts Unfrosted Strawberry

Store-Bought Snack Food and Ice Cream

Crunchy Things

Courtesy fritolay.com

Chips Doritos Spicy Sweet Chili Lays Barbecue, Classic, Deli Style Original, Dill Pickle and Lightly Salted varieties Ruffles Ruffles All Dressed Assaisonnes potato chips, Ruffles Barbecue potato chips, Ruffles Original potato chips Fritos Fritos Bar-B-Q Flavored Corn Chips, Fritos Brand the Original Corn Chips,Frito-LaySabritones Pringles Smokey Bacon, Original, Texas BBQ, Paprika, Sweet Cinnamon

Crackers Ritz Ritz Crackers and Ritz Whole Wheat Crackers Saltines Nabisco Saltine Crackers

Other Crunchy Things Chex Mix Traditional Vegan Brands: Earth Balance Puffs Aged White Kettle Chips Sea Salt, SourCreamand Onion, Cheddar Popcorn Buttery Flavor, Aged White Cheddar Flavor Cheddar Flavor Squares (basically Vegan Cheese-Itz)

Candy

Whats chewy and chocolatey are not normally thought not to be vegan. Gelatin is usually what makes the chewy things chewy, deriving from collagen obtained from various animal body parts. Chocolate normally has dairy. However, dark chocolate is vegan and all the chewy things below do not contain any animal body parts.

Courtesy bloomberg.com

Chewy Sour Patch Kids Sweetish Fish Mike and Ikes Fruit by the Foot Dots Air Heads Taffy Twizzlers Now and Later Skittles

Chocolatey Lindt Lindt Excellence 70, 85, and 90 percent Cocoa bars Ritter Sport Dark Chocolate with Marzipan

Hard Candy, Lollipops, and Others: Smarties Dum Dums Charms Blow Pops Jolly Rancher Hard Candy and Lollipops

Vegan Brands No Whey! Chocolate Bar (Carmel and Nougat in a Chocolate Coating; basically a Vegan Snickers Bar)

Cookies and Ice Cream Oreos Girl Scout Cookies Thin Mints, Thanks-A-Lots, Lemonades, Peanut Butter Patties Nutter Butters Ben and Jerrys So Delicious

Fast Food Restaurants

Stay away from McDonalds. Their hash browns and french fries arent even vegan because they are cooked in beef tallow.

Courtesy Chipotle

Chipotle Just hold the cheese and sour cream. When they ask for protein choose the tofusofritasor get extra veggies. Taco Bell Bean Burrito minus the cheese, cinnamon twists, the Veggie Cantina Power Bowl with no sauce, and other dishes can bemade vegan simply by omitting a few ingredients or asking for it fresco style. For example, this method applies to the 7-Layer Bean Burrito, the Crunchwrap Supreme and the Mexican Pizza. Wendys Plain baked potato, French fries or a veggie sandwich. Burger King Fries, hash browns, French Toast Sticks and Dutch Apple Pie. Papa JohnsPizza You can make any pizza vegan by omitting the cheese and choosing the Original Hand-Tossed Pizza Dough. Frozen Yogurt Places Usually places like Sweet Frog and The Skinny Dip have at least one sorbet or vegan option. Auntie Annes Pretzels Just ask for no butter. Asian Restaurants Chinese, Japanese, Thai, etc. Most of these restaurants have tofu or veggie versions of your favorite dishes. Just make sure to omit fish sauces and eggs.

Local Choice: My Vegan Sweet Tooth, located in Virginia Beach, has an all-vegan menu of cupcakes, cookies and other deserts.

Be careful and enjoy!

Look out for changing products and research, research, research! For example, Junior Mints stopped using gelatin in their product but simultaneously started using confectioners glaze, which is made with shellac from female lac bugs. Petas website is a good place to verify whether products cater to the vegan diet and lifestyle. Also, watching YouTubers like Nathan Vierke can give you an idea of what vegans eat in a day, be it junk food or otherwise.

Everyone gets the munchies sometimes and desires straight up junk food. Hope this helps vegans adopting the diet or the lifestyle in making choices that are the best and the tastiest. Enjoy!

Excerpt from:

Vegan Munchies - ODU Mace & Crown

Go vegan

Would you like to have a healthier lifestyle, help prevent animal suffering and do something to save the environment?

A vegan (total vegetarian) diet can help you achieve all of the above.

Todays factory-farmed animals are crowded so closely together they cannibalize and self-mutilate due to intense stress. They are de-horned, de-beaked, tail-docked and castrated without anesthesia. These farm animals are deprived of sunlight, fresh air and all aspects of a normal life. The inspection process at the slaughterhouse is so fast that farm animals are frequently treated inhumanely.

The production of animal products is very detrimental to the environment. Tons of manure generated by billions of livestock often foul the nations waterways, causing water pollution and the death of many forms of aquatic life. So many parts of the United States experience drought conditions; the raising of livestock and marketing the finished product uses a lions share of precious water, exacerbating the problem.

A vegan diet protects against cancer, and because it contains zero cholesterol will not cause heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes. It has been proven that the consumption of animal products can cause these detrimental conditions.

A vegan diet, one that contains a wide variety of plant-based foods, contains all the essential nutrients a human body needs, except vitamin B-12, which is easily supplemented daily. It has been proven that vegans have the strongest bones.

For a free packet of vegan recipes and nutrition information, call 224-1361.

BARBARA BONSIGNORE

Concord

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Letter: Go vegan - Concord Monitor - Concord Monitor

Opinion | Column

not not true

After a 24 hour closure for repairs over the alumni weekend, Duke students and alumni alike were shocked to find that every restaurant in the newly-renovated West Union had been repealed and replaced by the vegan-only restaurant, Sprout.

Gone are the stations of Indian fare, the $10,000 pizza oven shipped over from Italy and the ramen station. All have been replaced by sprouts of the Unions least popular vegetarian and vegan outlet, Sprout. The pok have been replaced with a make-your-own-kale-salad station, the caf turned into an almond-milk-only station and the Faculty Commons succeeded by a farm-to-table tofu restaurant.

According to YikYak, recent postings on the Duke Fix My Campus Facebook page and the two juniors recently back from Copenhagen whom I overheard on the C1, students are outraged that theyve lost the dishes they had learned to love to hate.

An anonymous first-year who proudly received a B- in Econ 201 last semester told Monday Monday, Id eaten Sitar every day for lunch for four months and I was only just now learning how to complain about the monotony of the Duke Dining experience to my friends and neighbors. What am I supposed to do now? The laws of supply and demand wont keep this up. LMo will have to make the change back.

A small group of students have begun assembling in the upstairs teaching kitchen, demanding the Duke administration bring back the crepe station with the watery nutella at the very least, in addition to establishing a $15 minimum wage and abolishing all prisons in the contiguous United States.

Tents have sprouted up in the past hour as more and more students join their protest, which was quickly dubbed W-Ville for continuitys sake, even if it doesnt rhyme with K. The administration has already begun alternative plans for the demonstration schedule on Earth Day by celebrity chef, Guy Fieri.

When asked about the recent changes, Doctor, Vice President of Student Affairs, Grandfather, Email Enthusiast and Vegan Czar Lawrence Moneta, PhD, admitted he was pretty excited about these changes.

Im not going to lie, he told Monday Monday. It was all me. The whole West Union? Yeah, it was me. Oh, and the vegan thing? It was me too. Did you know Im a vegan?

He noted that the lack of soda in the West Union was his first step at total health domination. The Italian soda was a cute afterthought to try and appease the student body while he executed his real plan for making the student body subsist on a powerful, plant-based dietfree of dairy, processed sugars and meat.

According to Moneta, most of the new eateries in the West Union will be sustained by the Duke Campus Farm which that weird P-Wild kid from down your hall goes to on occasion. Students were shocked to learn that the campus farm actually existed, as most only knew it as a sticker found on the laptop of the edgy TA who went to Bard for undergrad. However, because its only early spring, most of the vegetables will be shipped in from local places like Ecuador and Costa Rica.

This shift in the West Union towards strict veganism is symbolic of a larger change on Dukes campus towards freedom and diversity of thought. Moneta added that 2017 would bring a number of sizable changes to the gothic wonderland that students had begun to know and bemusingly despise. The university has already committed to destroying Central Campus and building a new center of campus by 2025, assuming that mold doesnt sprout up and take over before then.

The mold is vegan too, Moneta added excitedly.

He said the faculty council had made big plans to hire one conservative public policy professor before 2020, though political science professor and token Republican Peter Feaver had been told by President-Elect Vincent Price not to hold his breath.

The change Moneta is most hopeful about, however, is the committee of students, faculty and staff he has been leading, titled, Veganism: A Culture Under Siege. An anonymous Duke Student Government Representative and McKinsey 2017 summer analyst on the committee added they were incredibly excited about the findings, which concluded that the only way to properly establish a culture accepting of Veganism at Duke was to create a question on the application for admission. They added that the application for the Class of 2022 will feature a drop-down menu in which students can choose their meat consumption identity. The common application will feature Carnivore, Pescetarian, Vegetarian and Vegan choices, in addition to a write-in-your-own meat consumption identity.

Dean of Admissions and avid sunhat wearer Christoph Guttentag is hoping to use this method as a way of expanding the diversity of the class. The dean, who only reads applications for the exotic island of Manhattan, noted that the new question will distinguish the candidates from Horace Mann, Stuyvesant and Fieldston more distinctly, in addition to giving them direct insight into their parents earnings and potential Duke Annual Fund giving, despite a need-blind application.

You think a kid from Midtown who eats a strictly green, ovo-vegetarian diet has parents who arent going to give $1,000 to Duke Forward in the coming year? Please, Guttentag said, after ordering an unsweetened vanilla almond milk, holding the coffee.

Written while enjoying day-old vegan pumpkin bread from Vondy.

The Chronicle is your source for Duke news, sports, culture and dialogue.

Subscribe to the Chronicle: Newsletter | The Dirt | Overtime

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Vegan Czar Larry Moneta declares war on junk food - Duke Chronicle

And each of us can do something about it, today, by taking what we eat as seriously as we take climate change.

The effect of greenhouse gas emissions seems like an intransigent problem to curb, much less to solve. How can we play a role in influencing what humans are doing to the planet? And how can we approach these issues when political and economic forces can undermine efforts to address the climate crisis?

One answer lies in the choices that we make every day: what we eat.

Within that spectrum, fewer animal products are what's best for the planet, and our collective future. The Mediterranean diet alone (one that includes lower amounts of animal products) will still result in increased emissions, and the pescetarian diet (a vegetarian diet that includes fish) will lead to only a small degree of reduction in emissions.

However, a global vegetarian diet, the same study showed, would be the most effective of all diets (not including vegan) in achieving a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, as well as a decrease in agricultural land demand and land clearing.

So, what keeps us from following a plant-based diet? It requires overcoming our habits and our tastes, learning new ways to cook, planning during travel, and navigating the social aspects of eating and meal sharing. However, when seen through the lens of the fate of Earth's climate and resources, don't these challenges all of a sudden seem minuscule?

Choosing plant-based diets can promote environmental sustainability.

It is rare that a single choice of ours can have a broad and decisive impact on the climate crisis. We have a moral imperative to choose and advocate for plant-based diets for the health of our planet and the well being and survival of generations to come.

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Go vegan, save the planet - CNN.com - CNN

On the top floor of the Robert Hoag Rawlings Public Library on Sunday, a group of about two dozen Puebloans gathered in the Ryals Special Events Room to eat, socialize and listen to presentations from speakers who'd come to discuss their ideals on National Farm Animal Day.

The event was like many held at the Ryals Room: impassioned speakers, engaged listeners, informative pamphlets and a full spread of food for those who wandered into the event with an empty belly.

The primary difference between this event and others like it, however, is that at Sunday's happening the food, the message and the majority of the people were all vegan.

National Farm Animal Day is a nationwide annual event that began in 2005 as an initiative by animal activist Colleen Paige to shed light on the plight of animals that are abused and slaughtered on farms.

Joshua Chappell and Sandrah Burrier, co-organizers of the event at the library and orchestrators of the Pueblo Vegan and Vegetarians group on meetup.com, said that the goal of the National Farm Animal Day event was to prompt thought and discussion about the role that animals play in relation to human diets.

"I would hope that somebody would walk away from this event really contemplating their relationship to non-human animals," Burrier said.

"I think most of us want to call ourselves animal lovers or consider ourselves animal lovers, but eating and killing someone when you don't have to -- since humans don't biologically need meat or dairy to live -- isn't an act of love. And our culture does a really god job of keeping our eyes closed to that."

Since moving to Pueblo about 9 1/2 months ago, Chappell and Burrier have organized about 18-20 events in Pueblo to promote veganism and animal rights with film screenings, documentaries, potlucks, community meetings and even game nights.

In organizing Saturday's event, Burrier said the group chose to feature speakers who have seen firsthand the production side of the animal agriculture industry.

"Kind of our theme was to have speakers that have been on both sides of the industry, so people who have willingly participated in commodifying animals and then who have kind of had an awakening so to speak, and are now speaking on their behalf," Burrier said, "Each of our speakers in some way has been involved in animal agriculture."

The day's speakers included Julia Cameron Weingardt, the founder of a Greeley-based activist group called The Greeley Cow Save and Becky Bottomley Bernholtz, an Animal Rights Activist with Direct Action Everywhere.

The keynote speaker of the event was Renee King Sonnen, a well-known figure in the vegan activism community who lives in Texas and addressed the crowd via Skype.

"She started with (a blog called) 'Vegan Journal of a Ranchers Wife' -- she essentially married a cattle rancher, had no idea what cattle ranching entailed, fell in love with the animals and then essentially bought her husband's entire herd and turned their 90-acre cattle ranch into a sanctuary to protect these animals. She's like a huge name within the vegan community right now," Burrier said.

Although not every participant at the National Farm Animal Day occasion came to, or left the library as a vegan, the non-vegans in attendance undoubtedly departed with a fuller understanding of what veganism means.

"We try to sum it up with three main angles," Chappell said.

"The first and most important, we believe, is the rights of the animals -- that they're individuals with individual experiences. So today is primarily focused on that aspect. The other two are the impacts on your personal health, which are very profound, as well as the impacts the food industry has on the environment, so that's the trifecta of veganism we say."

zhillstrom@chieftain.com

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Vegan group hosts National Farm Animal Day event - Pueblo Chieftain

Hey everybody! What do you get when you combine your favorite soul food and a vegan restaurant? Savannahs first vegan-only spot: Natural Selections Cafe.

Its still so surreal, says owner/operator Davida Harris, laughing. The other day I sat in the parking lot across the street and watched people come in and eat. I just sat there and said, Im a restaurant owner. Im a vegan restaurant owner.

Davida opened her doors in early March and already the response has been so huge, shes extended to evening dinner hours.

Its fun, she says. Oh, yeah. Its my food. I want to be here with it.

And you wont believe the menu.

We have macaroni and cheese and greens old Southern favorites leave out of the door like hot cakes, she says.

Let me say as a dairy-loving, devout carnivore, this food is really good! You wont know its not the real thing.

But theres also a hearts of palm Crabby Cake, a seitan (a common vegan staple) Not Chicken Salad that youd swear your mama made (this is my favorite tastes great and even the texture is perfect) and an incredible cinnamon roll cheese cake that Davida says she cant keep in the store.

Davida started cooking vegan for herself 15 years ago, but it wasnt until five years ago that she started catering vegan meals. This past summer, she had an event that was way too large for her in-home kitchen and decided it was time for a restaurant.

The customers come in and thank me for opening this, she says. I know how difficult it was for me to find places to eat in Savannah that were all vegan. Most vegans dont want to eat in a kitchen that has meat or dairy products cooked in it.

Davida went vegan for health reasons but says she wasnt willing to give up the taste. And her customers approve.

Were part of Savannah Veggies and Vegans and they were posting about it, says Bluffton resident Meredith Johnson, sitting next to her husband Jason Telmos. They were posting photos of the mac n cheese and me being a pregnant vegan, I was like, Were driving 45 minutes to get this mac n cheese.

Technically, they were in town for an appointment with their midwife, but couldnt pass up the chance to check out Natural Selections. So far, they love everything theyve tried.

Oh, it was fantastic, says Jason. The crab cake was really, really good. Meredith picks it up from there: The crabby cake was amazing.

About that cheesy southern staple

Mac n cheese was on point, says Jason. Meredith adds, You would never know it was vegan. Tastes just like mac n cheese; it was amazing.

Jason takes it one step further, It was really, really good. And the baby approved. Meredith laughs and agrees.

The whole time my photographer Drew and I were in the restaurant, there was never less than three tables (there are about 10 tables total) with customers enjoying Davidas fine vegan cuisine and there were constant take-out orders. That says something for demand when customers are seeking out a brand-new vegan restaurant open for barely a month.

She also has what you think of as more standard vegan fare: kale, brown rice and quinoa. But it was the vegan soul food that really surprised me.

One side note: the prices are really reasonable. The most expensive thing on the menu is $10 and most items were way cheaper. Not to mention, you can get half sizes on the sandwiches and salads and a smaller serving of soup.

You can also order and pay online at NaturalSelectionsCafe.com.

Like Davida says, she didnt give up the taste, and its paying off in happy customers and a good time.

This is fun, she says. This isnt even like work, this is fun cause I like cooking. Its fun and I like to see people eat my food.

To see more of Davidas story and learn more about Natural Selections Cafe, tune in to The Bridge on WSAV at 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Rene LaSalle is co-host of The Bridge, which airs at 11 a.m. Monday-Friday on WSAV. Contact her on Facebook by searching Rene LaSalle WSAV, on Twitter @WSAVReneeL or email her at rlasalle@wsav.com.

Rene LaSalle is co-host of The Bridge, which airs at 11 a.m. Monday-Friday on WSAV. Contact her on Facebook by searching Rene LaSalle WSAV, on Twitter @WSAVReneeL or email her at rlasalle@wsav.com.

Natural Selections Cafe

Address: 1526 Bull St.

Hours: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; noon-5 p.m. Sunday

Info: NaturalSelectionsCafe.com, 912-660-0878

See the article here:

The Bridge: Natural Selections Cafe offers all-vegan options on Bull Street - Savannah Morning News

Jen Bennett and her dog. Photo by Jason Langley Photography, https://www.jasonlangleyphoto.com/

Vegan options in New Jersey have been hard to come by in the past, but suddenly seem to becoming more and more common. Even in Morristown, places like Morristown Pancake House offer vegan pancakes, waffles and scrambled tofu featured on their menu and Beenies Ice Cream, which is scheduled to open in May on Morris Street, will feature vegan ice creamright alongside their other treats. The New Jersey VegFest has launched vegan pop-up shops on the last Sunday of every month at the Laundromat Bar and the crowds keep growing.

Not sure what vegan means? The helpful folks at vegan.com have lots of info spelling it out, but it really refers to anything thats free of animal products: no meat, milk, eggs, wool, leather.

Enter Jen Bennett, who aims to create Morristowns first Vegan Cafe, The Plant Based Kitchen. She launched a Kickstartercampaign last week, which has already attracted 16 backers and over $1,200.

We reached out to Jen with some questions about what motivated her to launch this project and what her plans are.

Whats your background?

I am an artist who is a bit of a foodie and Im passionate about learning and being outdoors as much as possible. As far as my career background goes, I am currently an Art Director and graphic designer finishing up my Masters Degree in Nutrition & Food Science.

I am fascinated by the way our bodies naturally function and how the foods we choose to eat are the most important factor in our health outcomes. So many of us have been conditioned to believe that genetics and other factors leave us helpless to effect our predetermined health, but its just not true. The Standard American Diet is the main driving force in most of our biggest health issues we face as a country obesity, heart disease, etc. This has been shown over and over is scientific studies published in various journals. And yet, were still led to believe things just happen and theres a new pill for that or one to treat the side effects from the other pill you were given. We do have a choice and a responsibility for our personal health, but we often arent educated about how much of an impact our diet really has or how easy and delicious it can be to eat primarily healthy, plant-based meals. Health food became stigmatized and we need to correct that so that its just as fashionable to be healthy and happy as it currently is to make jokes about bacon.

What makes you think Morristown will support a vegan restaurant when other health food places have failed?

I think the NJ VegFest has shown that there is definitely a community looking for a great vegan spot to eat in this area. For The Plant Based Kitchen, the goal is delicious and easily accessible the healthy part for customers is a bonus. I dont know anything about the other places that have failed, but maybe Morristown just wasnt ready for them at the time. Its definitely ready now and even people that arent vegan or vegetarian or plant-based or any other label have seemed interested and excited about the idea. That is even more motivating and exciting!

If Im reading your page right, you are trying to raise $140K in a month? Is that correct? If so, thats a gargantuan task. Have you tried to get traditional backing, too?

$143K to be exact andit is definitely not a small fundraising goal hahaha. I decided on a Kickstarter because I love their platform being a give and take situation and its given me an opportunity to back some other amazing projects. I like the idea of having the community involved and excited right alongside me and I love knowing that theyll get something in return as a my thank you for their support. Its more fun to build a movement with a team and Kickstarter focuses on short, quick fundraising so it made sense for this situation.

Traditional funding is always an option, too. That becomes a little more difficult to acquire, though, when you are doing something new. Without having been in business for some amount of time to show banks that you have cash flow, they are generally hesitant to give out loans. Its that funny cycle of you need cash flow to start, but many places dont want to give money to someone who hasnt already started and has cash flow to show. So what can you can do to get started? I saw an amazing space that became available and it would be perfect. Thing is, a space that amazing doesnt stay available for long so I had to throw myself in and see what kind of fundraising could be done quickly. Idecided to put it out there on Kickstarter and after their fees I calculated it would put about $130K in place which maybe would givea bank some confidence in seeing that there isplenty of interest in grassroots capital raised.Couldnt let that opportunity go by without giving all of my energy into trying.

If this campaign doesnt get funded, its not going to stop the mission. It just means it slows back down a little and thats ok. Good things rarely come together easily and Im more than happy to put in the work for a slightly slower build of this movement if thats what it takes.

Oh I sure do haha. Its incredible and has the most amazing character to it. It is such a cool space and whoever ends up in it is going to be very lucky. I am so grateful and humbled by the kindness of all the Kickstarter campaign supporters so far. There are a whole bunch of financial backers and a ton of people sharing and promoting. Its really awesome to have so much support.

Unfortunately, weve not raised enough yet for me to feel comfortable throwing my hat in to be considered for that space right now. Fingers are still crossed, though! If the campaign goes wild and we get all of the funding together, Im prepared to immediately submit the necessary paperwork to be considered for the space if its not already leased out by that time. If we get funded and that space is gone, then the mission carries on with the search for a new space in town. Im a big believer in whats meant to be will be. If this space was not the space meant for The Plant Based Kitchen (even though I totally fell in love with it), thats ok. It just means theres something else thats right for it and itll come together when the time is right. (Yes, in addition to beign sort of a nerd, Im also a little bit of a hippie deep down.)

Until then, Im going to continue working on building this movement.The Plant Based Kitchen is a little plan I have to make a big impact on our society. The beginning stages of an app are underway now and there will be more to come.

The rest is here:

Plant Based Kitchen looking for Kickstart for Vegan Cafe - Morristown Green