By Lucia Rivera, VRG Intern

Plantega — the New York City program spreading plant-based options throughout local bodegas — cites community interaction and connection as central to its mission and work. Playing a significant role in these interactions are the Plantega Community Advisors (CA): local community members “responsible for community engagement, field marketing, in-store inventory management and quality control,” according to the Plantega website.

Community Ambassador Jailene Encarnacion is one of three CA’s currently working for Plantega, which has ten current locations.

“As a Community Ambassador, it is my job to directly speak and interact with the community, bodega workers and their customers. And as I am now coming up on my 9th month working at Plantega, I can honestly say that no other work I could be doing right now, is as community involved as this one,” Encarnacion said.

Additionally, Encarnacion explained how, after initially being introduced to Plantega, she “ultimately decided to apply for the job, because I like what Plantega stands for. I wanted to make it easier to bring affordable vegan/plant-based food into NYC as a whole, and I knew that this was going to be the best way to do that.”

On a similar note, Community Ambassador Ava Nadel is a four-year vegan familiar with bodegas and her home area, whose passions also align with Plantega.

“As a Brooklyn native and vegan, I am able to represent two unique communities. I’m so happy to represent a NYC staple of my childhood/adolescence. However, I’ve only been vegan for four years — I was always jealous of my non-vegan friends being able to pop into their local bodega and freely order [from] any menu. Plantega has completely changed that,” Nadel stated.

Part of Plantega’s goal is to be both community powering and to empower the community, according to Plantega head Nil Zacharias. For Encarnacion, this goal is reached in part through the way that the Plantega team reflects the NYC communities. Community Ambassadors can also help bridge language divides between the Plantega team and local bodegas, as different NYC neighborhoods very in culture and demographics.

“Although none of what we do is about racial justice, it is important to highlight that the whole team is made up of people of color, just like how NYC is. We represent what NYC looks like. We work with the people that feed NYC, from the most broke resident, to the richest citizen in these five boroughs,” Encarnacion stated.

Furthermore, Nadel explained how “Plantega is 100% a community initiative.” As their website ensures, “Plantega was created by New Yorkers for New Yorkers.” Nadel uses her own experiences to connect with both bodega employees and the bodega customers — who then become Plantega customers.

“Not only has the consumption and demand for plant-based foods increased exponentially, so has the demand for accessibility. Thus, Plantega empowers bodegas to offer exactly that!” Nadel shared. “In order to connect with store owners/workers, you have to remember you weren’t always vegan yourself and that a large portion of the customers base won’t always be people who are 100% vegan; some people like to dabble, some are curious, and some may not have had the same access to resources and education on plant-based foods and veganism you or I may have.”

Regardless of personal experience, Encarnacion enthusiastically recommends for “anyone and everyone” from NYC to apply to be Plantega community ambassadors. Nadel further suggested that “anyone who is sociable and goal minded, who enjoys hopping around the 5 boroughs, […] apply to be a CA. I have increased my knowledge around the plant-based revolution and have built so many connections both within the vegan community and within bodegas!”

In the end, since its conception during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Plantega team has built its program with help of Community Ambassadors and the NYC communities themselves. You can read more about Plantega here: vrg.org/blog/2021/08/19/plantegas-collaboration-with-bodegas-and-activists-promoting-vegan-items-in-latino-grocery-stores/, or learn more about them at their website: https://eatplantega.com.

For resources in Spanish, see vrg.org/nutshell/information_in_Spanish.htm

The contents of this posting, our website and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.