On a beautiful Sunday morning, I volunteered for The Vegetarian Resource Group at Great Sage, a fully vegan restaurant part of the Conscious Corner located in Clarksville, Maryland. Conscious Corner is a family of businesses dedicated to promoting healthy and mindful living by focusing on animal welfare, the environment, and community. Great Sage’s bold brunch menu features international flavors and organic ingredients with dishes such as a decadent cinnamon roll, a Cajun “chicken” sandwich, soba noodle salad, and much more. Along with hosting live music events that feature local musicians, Great Sage also supports non-profit organizations by hosting benefit days. On April 17, 2016, Great Sage hosted a benefit day for The Vegetarian Resource Group to which they donated 10% of proceeds of the day’s sales.

As a high school intern, I greatly benefited from volunteering and spending time with VRG’s dietetic intern, who answered my countless questions about vegan diets during our time at the restaurant. We discussed everything from the importance of B12 for vegans and dietitian certification levels to farmers’ markets, Thanksgiving, and recipes for coconut bacon and avocado pie crust. Situated near the waiting area, we attracted a number of patrons who took interest in the VRG literature we set out, including pamphlets, recipe books, the Vegetarian Journal, and restaurant guides. The younger restaurant-goers enjoyed VRG’s coloring book I Love Animals and Broccoli. It was an honor to spend my Sunday surrounded by friendly and inquisitive patrons in the warm and inviting atmosphere of Great Sage, and I hope to visit the restaurant again soon to enjoy a satisfying vegan meal! For information about Great Sage, see http://greatsage.com/

If you would like to volunteer to help with other outreach, please contact Brigette at [email protected]

If you would like to support the distribution of coloring books and other materials, please donate at www.vrg.org/donate