{"id":25327,"date":"2025-08-27T09:00:36","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T13:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/?p=25327"},"modified":"2025-08-05T13:00:19","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T17:00:19","slug":"my-summer-with-vrg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2025\/08\/27\/my-summer-with-vrg\/","title":{"rendered":"My Summer with VRG"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

by Ellie Meyerstein, VRG Intern<\/p>\n

When I started working with The Vegetarian Resource Group, I wasn\u2019t quite sure what to expect. But over the past 10 weeks I\u2019ve had the opportunity to work on numerous projects that (virtually) took me all over the country. I started my internship by tabling at the Green Mitzvathon Environmental Fair in Baltimore. There, I was able to engage with people of all ages and backgrounds about vegan and vegetarian issues. I talked to many people who were already vegan and simply looking for new recipe ideas or nutrition information. But, I also met several people who had family members that were vegan, and they were visiting the event and our table to learn more about veganism. Whether that was buying a vegan cookbook for their family member or friend or taking a copy of the Vegan Journal so they could try out some new vegan recipes, I was very glad I could help them.<\/p>\n

One of my favorite projects to work on this summer was watching the videos for VRG\u2019s video contest and sending responses to the contestants. Each of the videos was informative and well-done and each focused on a different aspect of veganism that was important to the individual. Everyone has a different reason for doing this work, but we are all doing it together and that is what is important.<\/p>\n

Another project that I worked on this summer involved reviewing restaurants for VRG\u2019s extensive restaurant guide. https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/restaurant<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 I researched and reviewed vegan and vegetarian restaurants all over the country, and even went to a couple that were local. This truly showed just how much the world of vegan and vegetarian food has expanded and evolved over the past decade. There are vegan restaurants all over the country, and many more places are offering vegan options. It proves how the work that VRG and other organizations have been doing with advocacy and education is working.<\/p>\n

Through this internship, I worked a lot on projects that will hopefully make veganism more accessible to people. People shouldn\u2019t be limited just because of their financial or living situation. Part of this was helping to put together a low-income vegan meal plan, which will hopefully demonstrate that veganism doesn\u2019t have to be expensive, though it often appears that way in the media. Veganism is a lifestyle that everyone, regardless of income should have access to and I hope my work with Reed Mangels, PhD, RD and VRG will help with that accessibility.<\/p>\n

Firsthand, I worked on vegan education with VRG\u2019s other summer intern, Chaltu. I interviewed her and we discussed veganism as a whole and how to be vegan on a budget. The video will be posted and available on VRG\u2019s social media and blog. One aspect of vegan education that I had the chance to see in action was attending one of Crystal Forman\u2019s vegan cooking classes at Christopher\u2019s Place, a program for formerly homeless men. I was very glad to have had this opportunity and could be a part of the crucial work that Ms. Forman, MPH, MPA is doing. She is incredibly knowledgeable about food and health and the participants, and myself, were captivated watching her cook and explain the science behind it.<\/p>\n

I also had the opportunity to work with VRG Volunteer Coordinator Whitney on a project researching assisted living facilities that offer vegan food options. Again, I hope the information that\u2019s now available on VRG\u2019s website and blog will make veganism more accessible and will ensure that elderly individuals do not have to compromise their values in order to get the help they need.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m grateful for my time with VRG and I hope they continue the incredible work they\u2019re doing.\u00a0For information about VRG internships, go to https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/student\/index.php<\/a><\/p>\n

For information about VRG internships, see www.vrg.org\/student\/index.php<\/a><\/p>\n

To support VRG internships, donate at www.vrg.org\/donate<\/a> or join at www.vrg.org\/member\/2013sv.php<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Ellie Meyerstein, VRG Intern When I started working with The Vegetarian Resource Group, I wasn\u2019t quite sure what to expect. But over the past 10 weeks I\u2019ve had the opportunity to work on numerous projects that (virtually) took me all over the country. I started my internship by tabling at the Green Mitzvathon Environmental […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25327"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25327\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25329,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25327\/revisions\/25329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}