by Navaal Mahdi

On Saturday, April 25th, Paul’s Place invited the VRG to set up an outreach booth in Southwest Baltimore. This was the first outreach event I attended with The Vegetarian Resource Group, and I was accompanied by volunteer Matt Baker, RN, and VRG staff member Nina Casalena.

Children gather at Paul’s Place health event in Baltimore, MD.

I was pleasantly surprised while working at this booth; it was a chilly, cloudy day and we were worried that not many people would show up to the event. The turnout was great considering the weather, and many local residents were interested in learning about how they could incorporate more fruits and vegetables into their diets. Several people expressed that they knew someone who had recently become vegetarian, and they were curious about the impact a vegan diet has on not only a person’s physical health, but their mental health as well. Though I am not a professional, because I recently became vegan I was able to provide people with honest insight about the positive changes in my mood and energy levels. A few people were intrigued by this so much that they said they would try using more vegetarian recipes from the Vegetarian Journals we distributed, and we encouraged many people to start taking smaller steps in the right direction so they could one day make bigger changes more easily.

(from left to right) VRG staff member, Nina Casalena, Paul’s Place Intern and Festival Chair, Emily Gebhart, and VRG volunteer, Matt Baker, RN, get ready for festival patrons at Paul’s Place health event in Baltimore, MD.

Another great part of working at this booth was the fact that we were able to reach people from low-income backgrounds who typically would not have access to the information we had to offer. Many showed interest in the Vegetarian Journals, and in the multiple pamphlets about vegetarian and vegan nutrition we had to offer. Some locals were also excited about being able to sign up for our newsletter emailing service.

I’m excited to continue working with the VRG at outreach booths this summer to continue spreading awareness about the vegetarian/vegan lifestyle!

To volunteer at VRG outreach booths, please contact Nina at [email protected]
To support VRG outreach, please donate at: www.vrg.org/donate
To join The Vegetarian Resource Group, please go to: http://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

Navaal Mahdi is a college student doing an internship with The Vegetarian Resource Group.