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Vegan Meals at Select 7-Eleven® Convenience Stores in the Northeast

by Jeanne Yacoubou, MS

VRG Research Director

Convenience store 7-Eleven® told The VRG in October 2011 that they now offer four pre-cooked vegan meals at one hundred locations in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. The ready-to-eat meals are manufactured and distributed by UNIVEG/Hot Cuisine America, Inc. ®, in Swedesboro, NJ.

UNIVEG/Hot Cuisine America® offers a wide variety of pre-cooked meals and distributes them widely. At this point, its vegan dishes represent a small, but growing, segment of their product offerings. UNIVEG/Hot Cuisine America® purchases ingredients from other companies then prepares meals with those ingredients according to recipes that it has developed. A senior staff member at UNIVEG/Hot Cuisine America® told The VRG that the vegan meals are prepared in a kitchen free of meat and dairy products.

The culinary team at the company is in the process of developing several more ready-to-eat vegan meals for 7-Eleven® and expanding their distribution to grocery stores such as Giant® in Maryland. “In the first quarter of 2012,” according to this staff member, customers may begin looking for vegans meals composed of, for example, a noodle component, a meat analog, and a vegetable, as well as ones like those currently offered at some 7-Eleven® stores in the northeast corridor (see below).

Many patrons enjoy the UNIVEG/Hot Cuisine America® meals eaten cold, but they may be heated as well. Heating them in the original containers is not recommended, according to the UNIVEG/Hot Cuisine America® staff member.

The VRG also spoke with Margaret Chabris, the public relations specialist for 7-Eleven®. She told us that the convenience store chain is “involved in intensive marketing research” and “moving positively in that direction [of offering more vegan meals at more 7-Eleven® stores.]” She stated that “it will be in select locations,” but that “it is too premature to say anything more at this time.”

Ingredient information about the four vegan dishes prepared by UNIVEG/Hot Cuisine America® and available at select 7-Eleven® stores is as follows (note: processing method of brown sugar is undetermined at this time):

Vegan Spinach Noodles with Vegetables
Ingredients: Spinach Pasta (durum wheat semolina, spinach powder, water), carrot, mushroom, sesame oil, onion, brown sugar, cilantro, apple cider vinegar, garlic, ginger, naturally brewed soy sauce, sea salt, spices. Contains: Soy, Wheat.

Vegan Pad Thai Noodles
Ingredients: Cooked pasta (durum wheat, water), cabbage, brown sugar, carrot, green onion, garlic, tomato, apple cider vinegar, lime juice, naturally brewed soy sauce, sesame oil, canola oil, sea salt, spices. Contains: Soy, Wheat.

Vegan Linguine Tikka Massala
Ingredients: Cooked pasta (durum wheat, water), water, spinach, red pepper, cilantro, sesame oil, tomato, brown sugar, garlic, spices, salt. Contains: Soy, Wheat.
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Vegan Asian Linguine
Ingredients: Cooked pasta (durum wheat, water), cabbage, mushroom, naturally brewed soy sauce, carrot, brown sugar, green onion, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, cilantro, salt, spice. Contains: Soy, Wheat. The 7-Eleven® stores carrying the vegan meals are as follows (7-Eleven® directed us to this list found on the PeTA® website and described to us as “accurate” by 7-Eleven®):


Location Name City State
1837 Old York Rd. Abington PA
150 E. Champlost St. Philadelphia PA
7607 Ridge Ave. Philadelphia PA
811 New Rodgers Rd. Bristol PA
2981 Welsh Rd. Philadelphia PA
2364 Street Rd. Bensalem Township PA
3224 Byberry Rd. Philadelphia PA
3508 Street Rd. Bensalem Township PA
932 Street Rd. Southampton PA
5401 Neshaminy Blvd. Bensalem Township PA
320 E. Street Rd. Feasterville PA
220 E. Street Rd. Warminster Township PA
11 Maple Ave. Southampton PA
2711 Easton Rd. Willow Grove PA
6622 Rising Sun Ave. Philadelphia PA
1830-38 Stenton Ave. Philadelphia PA
1823 John F. Kennedy Blvd. Philadelphia PA
4201-59 Walnut Street. Philadelphia PA
7720 Ogontz Ave. Philadelphia PA
5259 Oxford Ave. Philadelphia PA
2144-48 Lombard St. Philadelphia PA
3401 Lancaster Ave. Philadelphia PA
6919-27 Torresdale Philadelphia PA
6101 Ridge Ave. Philadelphia PA
7329 Elmwood Ave. Philadelphia PA
1 N. York Rd. Hatboro PA
1401 City Line Ave. Wynnewood PA
2300 S. Broad St. Philadelphia PA
4701 Mascher Ave. Philadelphia PA
1900-10 Welsh Rd. Philadelphia PA
106 S. 38th St. Philadelphia PA
2301 W. Passyunk Ave. Philadelphia PA
1034-38 Washington Ave. Philadelphia PA
2101 S. 10th St. Philadelphia PA
2900 S. 70th St. Philadelphia PA
9901 Frankford Ave. Philadelphia PA
362 Easton Rd. Glenside PA
1056 Easton Rd. Willow Grove PA
5231 Harbison Ave. Philadelphia PA
527 W. Lincoln Hwy. Langhorne PA
9001 Frankford Ave. Philadelphia PA
1912 Liacouras Walk Philadelphia PA
1201 Chestnut St. Philadelphia PA
800 Walnut St. Philadelphia PA
1500 JFK Blvd. Philadelphia PA
1501 Cecil B. Moore Ave. Philadelphia PA
1215 Filbert St. Philadelphia PA
150 N. Broad St. Philadelphia PA
3440 Market St. Philadelphia PA
2511 Lincoln Hwy. Trevose PA
226 W. Rittenhouse Sq. Philadelphia PA
226 Rt. 9 Pine Beach NJ
2603 Atlantic Ave. Atlantic City NJ
1500 Pacific Ave. Atlantic City NJ
7 W. Water St. Toms River NJ
1681 Lakewood Rd. (Rt. 9) Toms River NJ
100 Lindbergh Rd. (at the ramp) Newark NJ
722 Huntington Ave. Boston MA
2002 Beacon St. Brighton MA
566 Washington St. South Easton MA
1306 Washington Boston MA
200 Seaport Blvd. Boston MA
600 Technology Sq. Cambridge MA
1633 Beacon St. Brookline MA
1441 Beacon St. Brookline MA
532 Commonwealth Boston MA
426 Main St. Hyannis MA
20 W. Central St. Franklin MA
121 June St. Worcester MA
750 Massachusetts Ave. Cambridge MA
1224 Main St. West Concord MA
475 Merrick Rd. Oceanside NY
103-01 Queens Blvd. Forest Hills NY
3342 Nostrand Ave. Brooklyn NY
2247 Utica Ave. Brooklyn NY
254-02 Hillside Ave. Floral Park NY
65-07 Woodhaven Blvd. Rego Park NY
72-01 Eliot Ave. Middle Village NY
66-04 Queens Blvd. Woodside NY
31-31 Thomson Ave. Long Island City NY
953 Kings Hwy. Brooklyn NY
67-21 Freshpond Ridgewood NY
57-01 Myrtle Ave. Ridgewood NY
6920 Myrtle Glendale NY
763 Central Park Ave. Scarsdale NY
101-04 Metropolitan Forest Hills NY
107-24 Corona Ave. Corona NY
61-19 Northern Blvd. Woodside NY
307 Central Ave. White Plains NY
167 Martine Ave. White Plains NY
1740 Hylan Blvd. Staten Island NY
59-01 Roosevelt Ave. Woodside NY
395 Flatbush Ave. Ext. Brooklyn NY
100 Sunrise Hwy. Valley Stream NY
97-07 Queens Blvd. Rego Park NY
557 Grand Concourse Bronx NY
99-49 Horace Harding Exp. Corona NY
218-01 Northern Blvd. Bayside NY
1200 Victory Blvd. Staten Island NY
1705 Richmond Ave. Staten Island NY