Photo from Christopher Place

By Taylor Gale, VRG Intern

A pile of garlic, onions, beans, carrots, and tomatoes lie on the cart at Christopher Place, an intensive residential employment program that provides education and training, as well as recovery support to formerly homeless men of the Baltimore, Maryland area. My task was to assist in cooking up a vegan chili for a few men who are enrolled in classes at the shelter. I had the pleasure of encountering a group of warm and friendly older men, eager to learn, even though none of them were vegan. I stirred the vegetables all together as Marcy, nutritionist and teacher, chopped and explained the ingredient’s nutrients and flavors to the class. All of the men were so open-minded by asking many detailed questions about why and how people go vegan, what vegan substitutes are available in the market, which certain ingredients could be substituted for something else, etc.

Marcy taught the class the important lesson that delicious and nutrients dense food can still be affordable. Not only were the students excited to learn about the vegan chili recipe, they were also enthusiastic about getting to know Marcy, myself, and my fellow vegan intern Shun. The three of us felt welcomed in so many ways. It created a close-knit type of atmosphere.

After only roughly ten minutes, the chili was ready to be served. All of the men sprang up somewhat out of curiosity of what they were about to ingest, but also because they were excited about being a part of making the chili and having the ability to taste the end result. Overall, the students loved it, of course with the help of adding a pinch of salt on top. A few even went up for seconds!

This course enlightened the men on how to cook a healthy, cruelty-free, quick and affordable meal. By the end of the class, it was evident, the men were ready to start to create their own healthy and easy meals for themselves and their families!

Taylor is a VRG intern. For more information about internships, see https://www.vrg.org/student/index.php

If you would like to prepare vegan casseroles for a local feeding program in your neighborhood, see
https://www.vrg.org/blog/2017/07/11/vegan-casseroles-for-our-daily-bread-in-baltimore/