Part I
By Amy Dell, VRG Intern
It was a dark and stormy morning. I didn’t think anyone would come to this outdoor event. I was expecting a few people at most to brave the harsh weather to attend the Roots Vegan Fest. As booth staffer Angelique and I arrived at Roots Market, I was shocked to see dozens of other booths getting set-up and a full command central operation under a large tent in front of the store. This event was sponsored by the Roots natural foods store and similar to a marketplace with pop-ups, local artists, tastings, and nonprofits.
We got our table in place and displayed Vegetarian Resource Group materials. We were ready just in time for hordes of people to show up, Roots gift bags in hand. I was amazed. All of these people came out just to support vegan companies and nonprofits. We’re such a strong and dedicated community!
One of the first groups we talked to was an engaged couple who were getting married in a week. They had non-vegan family in town and were excited to have our Greater Baltimore Restaurant Guide on-hand for dining out with their families. We gave out over one hundred of our guides. See Greater Baltimore Restaurant Guide
We then saw a vegan family with a little baby. The mother was interested in raising the baby vegan, so we suggested our “Vegan Nutrition in Pregnancy and Childhood” Brochure (available for download here: Vegan Nutrition in Pregnancy and Childhood) and the Leprechaun Cake and Other Tales recipe book for when he gets a little bit older. This book is very close to my heart because I remember it being one of the first books I ever picked out and bought for myself as a child.
When the crowd died down a little bit, Angelique and I took turns walking around and getting food for lunch. There were so many cool booths to see and so many delicious choices for a meal. Angelique, a vegan volunteer from France had her first ever doughnut, and I got my all-time favorite soup (Maryland Vegetable Soup from Roots).
After lunch, we had a really interesting discussion with a Medical Librarian from Howard County Library. She was looking for new books to add to the library, and for some books for herself. We talked with her about what she was looking for, and had tons of options for her to review. There were books about Diabetes, Weight Loss, Specialty Cookbooks, Allergy Guides, and many more. All of the books can also be purchased on our website, VRG Book Catalog
My best moment of the day was when a new vegan came to our booth and quickly gravitated toward the Protein for Vegans and Vegetarians sheet. I made that handout during my Vegetarian Resource Group internship, so it was so cool to see it actually help someone in their transition to veganism.
I also really enjoyed spending time with Angelique (VRG’s visiting intern from France) and getting to know her better. Overall, it was a really fun day!
Part II
By Angélique Complainville, Vegan Volunteer from France
As soon as we were done setting up, people came to our booth and the outreach began. I met a lot of people who were already vegetarian or vegan but who said that they were always interested in learning more or finding new recipes. I was also really happy to talk with people who knew vegans or vegetarians – whether they were family members or friends. They wanted to learn more about this lifestyle and usually picked out our “Vegan Diets in a Nutshell” pamphlet. A grandmother I talked to was really concerned about her grandson who had just gone vegan and protein he needed to play sports. I gave her a “Protein for Vegans & Vegetarians” handout. I told her that we had vegan recipes on our website, so she took one of our business cards and said that she would use our website to cook her grandson some meals for when he visits her. This experience really touched me because I wish my French grandparents had access to resources like the ones VRG provides.
Because it was a weekend there were a lot of families, so we handed out many copies of our “I Love Animals and Broccoli Coloring Books.” Kids were really happy about it and it was a way to spark up conversations with the parents. Locals were also really pleased for our extensive list of vegetarian and vegan restaurants from our restaurant guide and many people subscribed to our newsletter to get notified about events going on in the area. Some people I talked to said they knew us from our Annual Pre-Thanksgiving Vegan Potluck and were excited to see us here and support us.
Overall, I had a really great time meeting people at the booth, sharing about veganism, and informing people. People were really friendly and interested in what the VRG’s mission was. Most people were really impressed when they found out that the VRG was around since 1982 and wanted to support it whether it was by buying a bumper sticker or a pin, or by buying a book or a journal subscription. This is definitely an experience I look forward to having again because I really felt like it was inspiring people to start or continue their vegetarian lives.
For more information about Roots Market, see Roots Market
To volunteer with The Vegetarian Resource Group, contact gene at vrg@vrg.org
For information about internships, see Intern at VRG
To support The Vegetarian Resource Group outreach, donate at Donate to The Vegetarian Resource Group
To join The Vegetarian Resource Group, go to Join The Vegetarian Resource Group