The Internal Revenue Service states that individual retirement arrangement (IRA) owners age 70½ or over can transfer up to $100,000 to charity (such as The Vegetarian Resource Group) tax-free each year. These transfers, known as qualified charitable distributions or QCDs, offer eligible older Americans a way to give to charity. For those who are at least 73 years old, QCDs count toward the IRA owner’s required minimum distribution (RMD) for the year. You need to have your IRA trustee send the money to the charity directly, and not to you first. You do not need to itemize your taxes for this benefit. For more information, see https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/qualified-charitable-distributions-allow-eligible-ira-owners-up-to-100000-in-tax-free-gifts-to-charity

This is not legal or tax advice, for which you should speak to your financial and legal advisors.

To make direct donations to VRG and support vegan education and research, donate at www.vrg.org/donate

Twin Cities VegFest is looking for registered dietitians to volunteer a couple hours at their “Ask a Dietitian” booth on September 22 at Harriet Island Park. This is an opportunity to share information with people interested in plant-based eating, and to share information about your personal consulting practice if you have one.

Interested? Contact Laura Matanah, festival organizer, at [email protected]

What can you pack for a vegan lunch? Whether you’re going to school, work, a picnic, or on a road trip, you need options for lunch. Check out 50 ideas to fill your lunch bag!

See this Vegetarian Resource Group Video at https://youtu.be/kqoFDjQO2fs

More videos at:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvSyCToa_i9fA4D5CLCAFWw
https://www.vrg.org/veg_videos.php

Image by Racool_studio on Freepik

In the latest Nutrition Hotline column of Vegan Journal, Reed Mangels, PhD, RD, covers the topic of diet and hearing loss. Read the column here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2024issue3/2024_issue3_nutrition_hotline.php

To subscribe to Vegan Journal visit www.vrg.org/member

Carrot Dogs photo by Hannah Kaminsky

In the latest issue of Vegan Journal, Lauren Bernick shares recipes that won’t break your budget. Enjoy Incredible Carrot Dogs; Portobello Mushroom Fajitas with Mango Salsa; Pumpkin Seed Sauce; Meaty Texas Chili; and Old-Fashioned Biscuits. Find the entire article here https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2024issue3/2024_issue3_economical_vegan_meals.php

To subscribe to Vegan Journal visit www.vrg.org/member

By Akua Oppong

My time at The Vegetarian Resource Group has been a fulfilling and exceptional experience. I have had the opportunity to explore my interests, learn about community outreach, and connect with impactful people.

A few weeks before my internship officially started, VRG was generous enough to provide me the opportunity to attend the Animal and Vegan Advocacy Summit with them. It was a truly enriching experience as I had the opportunity to connect with vegan activists, professionals, and companies.

One of the biggest projects I worked on during my internship was an article, meal plan, and recipes describing Ghanaian food and culture. This project was important to me because I have always wanted to do things to help promote veganism and healthy eating among the Ghanaian and African communities in the United States. I feel that my work on the project will help Ghanaians find ways to eat their cultural food in a healthy, fulfilling way, as well as anyone else who may want to try it. I collaborated with Reed Mangels, PhD, RD, a dietitian who works with VRG. Working with Reed was amazing as she provided specific, detailed feedback. This project has inspired me to continue sharing vegan resources and recipes with my community.

VRG has also allowed me to gain experience in many aspects such as networking, interviewing, writing articles, and reviewing events and products. The AVA summit was a great vessel for networking and I met many amazing people from around the world. I had the pleasure of interviewing Nancy, an exceptional student who has advocated for vegan foods at her high school, and met a young man from Ghana who is vegan and created a startup company that promotes animal advocacy in Ghana. During the internship I virtually observed a class by Kara Hall, a nutritionist who teaches vegan cooking and nutrition classes at Christopher Place, a residential employment academy for formerly homeless men in Baltimore.

I also conducted an interview with Dr. Peterson, a vegan dietitian and professor at Morgan State University, who I wrote about for a “Vegan Action” entry for Vegan Journal. Nadely, another VRG intern, and I, also had the chance to interview and record each other, describing our internships. I also had the chance to review a vegan pizza product for a Veggie Bit and a vegetarian Indian restaurant for VRG’s email newsletter.

For an exploratory assignment I got the chance to examine starches that are eaten in cultures around the world, and by reading VRG articles I learned about worldwide veganism, how to eat vegan on a budget, traditional, cultural, and religious vegan and vegetarian practices, what “plant-based” really means, and more. It was nice to see the many different vegan recipes that are made in African countries including Morocco, Ethiopia, and South Africa.

The main community health skill that I was able to apply during my internship were forms of qualitative studies. Qualitative studies are usually conducted by interacting with people, and I was able to do so through interviews. I then used the information or “data” I collected from the interviews or my experiences to write articles for the VRG blog.

Some ways in which this internship has shaped my future includes fueling my desire to work with people in communities, and possibly even a nonprofit organization like The VRG. I have been able to see how nonprofits work and how I can find a career in it. I look forward to seeking similar opportunities in the future.

Overall, the people at The VRG are a great, informative, genuine group of people who are passionate about what they do and want to share their passion and knowledge of veganism and vegan resources with the world. It has been a great honor to work with them this summer for my internship.

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

To support VRG internships, donate at vrg.org/donate or join at https://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

Vegan Journal is published by The Vegetarian Resource Group. Enjoy in-depth original research, product and book reviews, scientific updates on veggie nutrition, delicious vegan recipes with gorgeous photos, plus so much more. Both long-term vegans and those new to a vegan life-style will enjoy this magazine.

To subscribe in the USA only, see: https://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

I don’t know about you, but tomato season is never long enough for me! Nothing compares to the flavor of a fresh, local tomato, preferably just picked and still warm from the sun. I reluctantly buy an occasional tomato in the winter and am reminded, once again, how these don’t have the taste or texture of summer tomatoes.

So, I accept surplus tomatoes from friends with gardens and, at the farmers market, buy more tomatoes than I could possibly eat. When that glut of tomatoes happens, I have 2 tried and true solutions for easily preserving summer’s tomatoes.

Easy solution Number 1: Cut and freeze

Supplies needed: Cutting board, knife, freezer containers, measuring cup or kitchen scale (optional)

Wash ripe tomatoes. Remove the core, cut into small pieces, place in freezer container and freeze until you need tomatoes. If you freeze 14 ounce portions (a scant 2 cups or use a scale), you can easily use a thawed portion the same way you’d use a 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes. I don’t mind tomato skin or seeds in my dishes but if that’s a concern, you can put tomatoes in boiling water for one minute, transfer them to an ice bath, and then easily remove the tomato skin with your fingers. Cut the peeled tomatoes in half and scoop out the seeds with clean fingers or a spoon and then cut into pieces for freezing.

Easy solution Number 2: Oven roast and freeze

Supplies needed: Cutting board, knife, baking sheet, immersion blender or food processor, freezer containers

Wash ripe tomatoes, core, and cut them in half. Place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, place a clove of garlic in each tomato half, drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt and/or pepper to taste. Bake at 225 degrees until they are very soft. This could take several hours or longer. Once the tomatoes have baked and cooled, you can put them, the garlic, and any juices left after roasting in a bowl and purée into a sauce with an immersion blender. Alternatively, put roasted tomatoes, garlic, and any juices into a food processor and pulse into a chunky sauce. Freeze in containers of your choice. When thawed, the sauce can be served over pasta or used as the base for a soup or sauce.

I should note that I haven’t tried canning tomatoes. It’s simpler, in my opinion, to freeze them. If canning is something you want to try, be sure to follow proper procedures including ensuring safe acidity by adding bottled lemon juice or citric acid. USDA’s Complete Guide to Home Canning is a reliable reference for canning tomatoes.

For more tomato ideas see:

What To Do With All Those Tomatoes

Quick and Easy Dishes Featuring Fresh Tomatoes

Tomato Heaven

REMI Vegan Backpack – Purity Matt & Nat Canada

If you’re in the market for a vegan backpack, you’ll be happy to know that there’s a wide variety of stylish vegan backpacks available in the USA, Canada, and Europe.

The French company Arsayo offers backpacks.

Doshi, an American company, makes backpacks for men and women.

Gunas offers backpacks for men and ships internationally from America.

Matt and Nat sells internationally a wide variety of backpacks in several colors.

Pixie Mood ships backpacks to both Canada and the USA.

Norbu Bao Bun

Norbu restaurant in Lancaster, PA clearly marks vegan options on their menu. Enjoy a wide variety of delicious Nepalese and Bhutanese dishes including vegetable momo dumplings, Bao buns, sweet and sticky tofu, shamu datsi (shiitake mushrooms in cheese sauce; request vegan cheese and keep in mind that this dish is spicy), and so much more. They offer specials also.

For more information on this restaurant visit https://norbulancaster.smartonlineorder.com/