VRG-NEWS: The Vegetarian Resource Group Newsletter
Volume 22, Issue 6

June 2018

By Whitney Blomquist

CONTENTS

  1. NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
  2. VEGETARIAN RESOURCE GROUP RESEARCH AND NEWS
  3. VRG BOOTHS AND EVENTS
  4. OTHER UPCOMING VEGETARIAN/VEGAN EVENTS
  5. SUMMER OPPORTUNITY FOR TEENS
  6. HAWAIIAN STUDENT RECEIVES $10,000 VEGETARIAN RESOURCE GROUP COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP
  7. VEGETARIAN RESOURCE GROUP VEGAN DINNER IN WASHINGTON, DC SUNDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2018 AT 6PM
  8. A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE VRG VOLUNTEERS
  9. VRG HIGHLIGHTS
  10. VRG WISH LIST
  11. VRG ON SOCIAL MEDIA
  12. ABOUT THE VEGETARIAN RESOURCE GROUP & VRG NEWS

1) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

As summer kicks off, our volunteer coordinator, Gene Slothour-Hudnall, is busy prepping volunteers to attend several events The Vegetarian Resource Group is participating in this year! (See section 3 of this newsletter for information on each event.) We are always seeking dedicated volunteers to represent VRG at different festivals and events across the United States. Reach out to Gene, [email protected], for more information on volunteering with VRG and see Gene's "Call for Volunteers" memo in this newsletter for additional volunteer opportunities.

Our awesome volunteers have been busy reading and responding to 300+ essays submitted by high school students applying for VRG's college scholarship contest over the past several months. I had the opportunity to help read through the essays and respond to a few of the applicants myself! Every year I look forward to helping out with this task because it is so inspirational to read about these students activism and to get a feel for how rapidly vegetarianism and veganism is growing among the youth. Veganism is thriving and this year's scholarship winners prove that! (Check out one story in section 6 of this months newsletter.)

The deadline for the next Vegetarian Resource Group scholarship contest for high school seniors is February 20, 2019. For more information, please see [ https://www.vrg.org/student/scholar.htm ]

VRG is growing our social media presence on FB, Instagram and Twitter. If you eat at an awesome vegan restaurant, see a VRG bumper sticker (check out our new sticker [ https://www.vrg.org/bookstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=109&zenid=3e5193cfd865d57677b44394874ed12f ] or make a recipe from one of our cookbooks, tag us in your post so we can share it on VRG's social media accounts! Veg parents, be sure to check out our FB parents and kids page to connect with other parents raising vegetarian/vegan children!

FB: [ https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=117682300680&ref=content_filter ] Parents FB: [ https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=365020193898588&ref=content_filter ] Instagram: @vegetarianresourcegroup Twitter: @VegResourceGrp "Veg" out and enjoy the coming summer months!

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2) VEGETARIAN RESOURCE GROUP RESEARCH AND NEWS

  • ENTER THE VRG 2018 VIDEO CONTEST
  • DR. REED MANGELS DOES PODCAST ON FOUR MYTHS ABOUT VEGAN NUTRITION FOR CHILDREN
  • VEGANIC GARDENING
  • VEGAN SMOOTHIES
  • THE U.S. VEGAN CLIMATE STOCK INDEX
  • L-CYSTEINE
  • STRAWBERRY RECIPES
  • COOKING WITH GREENS
  • STARTING A VEGAN CLUB ON YOUR COLLEGE CAMPUS NEXT SEMESTER
  • AND MORE!
SPECIAL THANKS TO GREAT SAGE RESTAURANT FOR DOING A BENEFIT DAY FOR THE VEGETARIAN RESOURCE GROUP
https://www.vrg.org/blog/2018/05/02/special-thanks-to-great-sage-restaurant-for-doing-a-benefit-day-for-the-vegetarian-resource-group/ ]
VEGAN RESTAURANTS HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THE VEGETARIAN RESOURCE GROUP'S ONLINE GUIDE TO VEGGIE RESTAURANTS IN THE USA AND CANADA
https://www.vrg.org/blog/2018/05/03/vegan-restaurants-have-been-added-to-the-vegetarian-resource-groups-online-guide-to-veggie-restaurants-in-the-usa-and-canada-6/ ]
UPDATE ON VEGAN L-CYSTEINE: WHAT DOES "VEGETABLE L-CYSTEINE" MEAN?
https://www.vrg.org/blog/2018/05/04/update-on-vegan-l-cysteine-what-does-vegetable-l-cysteine-mean/ ]
THE VEGETARIAN RESOURCE GROUP RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING LETTER REQUESTING HOST FAMILIES IN THE USA FOR HIGH SCHOOL AGE VEGETARIAN FOREIGN EXCHANGE STUDENTS
https://www.vrg.org/blog/2018/05/07/the-vegetarian-resource-group-received-the-following-letter-requesting-host-families-in-the-usa-for-high-school-age-vegetarian-foreign-exchange-students/ ]
ENTER THE VEGETARIAN RESOURCE GROUP 2018 VIDEO CONTEST!
https://www.vrg.org/blog/2018/05/09/enter-the-vegetarian-resource-group-2018-video-contest/ ]
SPRING IS FOR STRAWBERRIES! ENJOY THESE VEGAN RECIPES FROM VEGETARIAN JOURNAL
https://www.vrg.org/blog/2018/05/11/spring-is-for-strawberries-enjoy-these-vegan-recipes-from-vegetarian-journal/ ]
DR. REED MANGELS DOES PODCAST ON FOUR MYTHS ABOUT VEGAN NUTRITION FOR CHILDREN
https://www.vrg.org/blog/2018/05/14/dr-reed-mangels-does-podcast-on-four-myths-about-vegan-nutrition-for-children/ ]
ARE YOU INTERESTED IN DOING VEGANIC GARDENING IN YOUR BACKYARD?
https://www.vrg.org/blog/2018/05/15/are-you-interested-in-doing-veganic-gardening-in-your-backyard/ ]
GAME IDEA FOR VEGGIE OUTREACH USING INFORMATION FROM VRG'S SAVE OUR WATER BROCHURE
https://www.vrg.org/blog/2018/05/16/game-idea-for-veggie-outreach-using-information-from-vrgs-save-our-water-brochure/ ]
NEW HAMPSHIRE STUDENT RECEIVES $5,000 VEGETARIAN RESOURCE GROUP COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP
https://www.vrg.org/blog/2018/05/17/new-hampshire-student-receives-5000-vegetarian-resource-group-college-scholarship/ ]
COOKING WITH SPRING GREENS
https://www.vrg.org/blog/2018/05/18/cooking-with-spring-greens/ ]
SUPPORT THE VEGETARIAN RESOURCE GROUP YEAR-ROUND - BECOME A MONTHLY OR QUARTERLY DONOR!
https://www.vrg.org/blog/2018/05/21/support-the-vegetarian-resource-group-year-round-become-a-monthly-or-quarterly-donor-14/ ]
PREPARE VEGAN ASIAN CUISINE AT HOME
https://www.vrg.org/blog/2018/05/22/prepare-vegan-asian-cuisine-at-home/ ]
ARE YOU IN THE MOOD FOR VEGAN SMOOTHIES OR COOLERS?
https://www.vrg.org/blog/2018/05/23/are-you-in-the-mood-for-vegan-smoothies-or-coolers/ ]
BE SURE TO VISIT THE VEGETARIAN RESOURCE GROUP BOOTH AT THESE EVENTS IN JUNE 2018
https://www.vrg.org/blog/2018/05/29/be-sure-to-visit-the-vegetarian-resource-group-booth-at-these-events-in-june-2018/ ]
THE U.S. VEGAN CLIMATE STOCK INDEX
https://www.vrg.org/blog/2018/05/30/the-u-s-vegan-climate-stock-index/ ]
ARE YOU INTERESTED IN STARTING A VEGAN CLUB ON YOUR COLLEGE CAMPUS NEXT SEMESTER?
https://www.vrg.org/blog/2018/05/31/are-you-interested-in-starting-a-vegan-club-on-your-college-campus-next-semester/ ]

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3) VRG BOOTHS AND EVENTS

Please visit VRG at these booths.

Maryland area events

Waverly Farmers' Market
Saturday, June 9th , 2018
32nd Street and Barclay
Baltimore, MD
Thrive Vegan Market
Saturday, July 7th , 2018
6 East Lafayette Ave
Baltimore, MD
Roots Vegan Fest
Saturday, July 21st, 2018
Clarksville, MD
Vegan SoulFest
Saturday, August 25th , 2018
Clifton Park
Baltimore, MD
12pm - 7pm
Vegetarian Resource Group Annual Pre-Thanksgiving Potluck
North Baltimore Mennonite Church
Baltimore MD
Sunday, November 18th, 2018 at 5PM

Events around the country

Richmond VegFest
Saturday, June 23rd, 2018
Bryan Park, Richmond, VA
12pm - 6pm
Vegetarian SummerFest
The festival starts July 4th, but we'll be there July 6th - 8th, 2018
University of Pittsburgh Johnstown
Johnstown, PA
Western NY VegFest
Sunday, August 5th, 2018
Buffalo, NY
DC VegFest
Saturday, Sept. 15th, 2018
Yards Park
Washington, DC
Charlottesville Vegan Roots Fest
Saturday, Sept. 29th, 2018
Washington Park
Charlottesville, VA
VRG Annual Vegan Dinner (during the annual meeting of The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics)
Washington, DC
Sunday, October 21st, 2018, 6PM
Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
Washington DC
October 21-23rd, 2018

To volunteer at VRG booths, please contact Gene at [email protected] If you would like to donate towards our veggie outreach, donate at:
http://www.vrg.org/donate ]

Donations can also be sent to:

The Vegetarian Resource Group
P.O. Box 1463
Baltimore, MD 21203
Or call: (410) 366-8343

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4) OTHER UPCOMING VEGETARIAN/VEGAN EVENTS

Below are upcoming events occurring nationally and internationally. The VRG will not be at these events but we want to share them with you in case you live in or will be traveling to the area they are taking place and wish to attend:

Asheville Vegan Fest
Sunday, June 10th, 2018
Pack Square Park
Asheville, NC
16TH SATVIK VEGAN FESTIVAL (SATVIK VEGAN SATSANG)
Aug 04 and 05 (Saturday to Sunday), 2018
Sthitaprajna(Simplicity, Solitude, Silence)
Hoseri, Yeljit Village, Byndoor- 576214, Udupi Dist., Karnataka, India
Plant Based World Conference & Expo
June 7th & 8th, 2019
Javits Convention Center in NYC

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5) SUMMER OPPORTUNITY FOR TEENS

I am reaching out with an opportunity for the youth you work with. My name is Lillian Davis-Bosch and I work with a non-profit called Youth Empowered Action Summer Camp. We work to educate and empower young people to take action on a range of social justice issues. If interested, we have several spots left for both the Massachusetts and California camp! It is a week long program, where the teens will participate in workshops and activities to learn about social justice. They will then pick an issue that they are interested in and with a mentor write an action plan for what they wish to accomplish when they go home. The full tuition is $1,600 but we have many scholarships available and have never turned down a camper because of their financial situation.

[ http://yeacamp.org/ ]

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6) HAWAIIAN STUDENT RECEIVES $10,000 VEGETARIAN RESOURCE GROUP COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP

Natalia Gosiaco works at a vegetarian restaurant. The owner of the business said she continuously excelled for the past three years providing excellent customer service and always showing up on time. (One of the biggest hurdles for restaurants and groups is to find hard working long-term employees who always show up.) The owner reported that Natalia also "made important contributions to our business by offering some of her vegan recipes, of which we sometimes added to our special's menu. She has certainly been a gem in our organization." Another employee mentioned how Natalia kept her "kind demeanor even during high stress peak hours." Natalia said for the restaurant she developed "a chocolate soft serve flavor by pouring a mixture of bananas, coconut milk, dark chocolate, and cacao powder into our soft serve machine. It is served with granola, papaya, banana, and macadamia nuts. I have also baked small treats, including vegan cookies and muffins that can be sold in the front by the cash register."

When Natalia Gosiaco and her friend went vegan, they decided to create the first vegan club at their high school. The Vegan Club's high school advisor said "Natalia took initiative to organize two formal assemblies at our school inviting a well know vegan activist - to speak about veganism and the environment. Natalia single-handedly proposed the guest speaker to administration, completed all necessary paperwork, and organized the event's logistics. These two assemblies reached over 800 students."

Additionally, this past fall Natalia helped organize healthy vegan alternatives during a bake sale to raise funds for victims of Hurricane Maria and Hurricane Harvey. The club advisor added, at our school's annual spring fair "Natalia and her co-president of Vegan Club created a first-ever vegan snack option featuring Tofu Poke, It was a huge success and many people came up afterwards to share how exciting it was to have not only a healthy alternative (compared to cotton candy, hot dogs, etc.), but also a vegan option."

Natalia received an email from the head of student life at her high school regarding the sample vegetarian menu she created. The student life head is speaking to Sodexo food service about incorporating more vegan options in the cafeteria.

Natalia wrote that she planned her fully vegan graduation party, which included vegan Hawaiian food for over 150 people. The menu was Lau lau, Luau, mock chicken long rice, mock lomi salmon haupia, poi; "all of which are delicious traditional Hawaiian foods that we made vegan."

Natalia plans to study nutrition and business, which will allow her to continue to stay involved in the movement. Her perfect life in the future will be to own a vegan restaurant, that sells vegan breakfast and lunch, with a farm where all of the vegetables could be harvested, from farm to table. While in college, she will work with a vegan caterer, and with a friend she is starting a business delivering vegan ingredients in a box to households so they can easily prepare vegan meals.

The deadline for the next Vegetarian Resource Group scholarship contest for high school seniors is February 20, 2019. For more information, please see [ https://www.vrg.org/student/scholar.htm ]

Over 300 students have entered the scholarship contest this year. In our mind, all are winners. If you would like to sponsor additional scholarships of any amount, please donate at www.vrg.org/donate; mail to The Vegetarian Resource Group, P.O. Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203; or call (410) 366-8343.

https://www.vrg.org/blog/2018/05/10/hawaiian-student-receives-10000-vegetarian-resource-group-college-scholarship/ ]

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7) VEGETARIAN RESOURCE GROUP VEGAN DINNER IN WASHINGTON, DC SUNDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2018 AT 6PM

The Vegetarian Resource Group will host a vegan dinner at BUSBOYS AND POETS in Washington, DC (About three blocks from the Convention Center) on Sunday, October 21, 2018 during the annual meeting of The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Meet VRG advisors Reed Mangels PhD RD, Catherine Conway MS RD, Debra Wasserman, and vegetarian dietitians from around the country. All are welcome.

Menu

Appetizers:
  • BBQ Vegan Chicken Bites
  • Crispy Brussels Sprouts (Brussels sprouts with shallots, agave vinaigrette)
  • Tabbouleh (Quinoa, parsley, tomatoes, green onions, lemon juice)
Entrée:
  • Beans and Wild Rice (black beans, fresh guacamole, pico de gallo)
Dessert:
  • Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie
  • Fountain Drinks and Iced Tea

To reserve: Send $35 per person (includes tax and tip) with names to

The Vegetarian Resource Group
P.O. Box 1463
Baltimore, MD 21203

Must reserve and pay in advance.

Call (410) 366-8343. Or pay at
http://www.vrg.org/donate ] and write DC Dietitian Dinner in the Comments.

name:  
 
# Attending X $35/person = $
 
names of attendees:  
 
Address:  
City/State/Zip:  
 
Email:  
Phone:  
 
Donation towards professional outreach: $
 
Total enclosed:  

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8) A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE VRG VOLUNTEERS

Thanks to the following VRG volunteers for all your hard work with The Vegetarian Resource Group, including, posting to social media, writing blog posts, editorials, and restaurant reviews, doing media interviews, staffing booths, performing nutrition analysis, doing HTML, helping with our newsletters, and more!

  • Matt Baker, RN
  • Nancy Berkoff, EdD, RD
  • Nanette Blanchard
  • Whitney Blomquist
  • Natalie Evans-Bruffy
  • Terry Carlo, RD
  • JoAnn Farb
  • Hannah Greene
  • Carole Hamlin
  • Suzanne Hengen
  • Teagan Kim
  • Jane Michalek
  • Justin McVerry
  • Heather Francis
  • Reed Mangels, Ph.D, RD
  • Laura McGuiness
  • David Milner
  • Marcia Schveibinz
  • Elsa Spencer, PhD
  • Griffin Stein
  • Robin Tate

Call for Volunteers:
As summer approaches we're looking for volunteers who can assist us updating our lists of vegetarian and vegan restaurants. We've gotten a lot of leads from our scholarship entrants, but there's still more to be done. Locally, we also need assistance with clerical work in our Baltimore office.

To volunteer at VRG, please contact Gene at [email protected]
To support The Vegetarian Resource Group's outreach, donate at [ https://www.vrg.org/donate ]

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9) VRG HIGHLIGHTS

  • Reed Mangels PhD RD was interviewed by a reporter from Latvian Public Television for a story about vegetarian diets for children.
  • Becca Kaplan and Leah Alper represented VRG at the NY Veggie Pride Parade on April 8th.
  • Mercy for Animals Latinoamérica will feature some of our recipes on their upcoming website!
  •  
  • We've sent over 250 Spanish language brochures, flyers, and coloring books to Los Angeles, CA for LA's VegFest.
  •  
  • We've sent brochures and leaflets, including the ever-popular My Vegan Plate, Teen Vegan Nutrition, Save our Water the Vegetarian Way, I Love Animals and Broccoli Coloring Book, Heart Healthy Eating Tips, and more, to various organizations, institutions, and events across the country including schools, hospitals, and Earth Day events!

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10) VRG WISH LIST

As a non-profit, we can only take on new projects when we are able to get support from donors and our dedicated volunteers. Right now, we are especially seeking your support for the following:

  • VRG Outreach Booth at American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, attended by 10,000 health professionals - our most important conference of the year. Here, we're able to educate and put materials into the hands of 1,000 registered dietitians and other health professionals. ($50 to give out copies of Vegetarian Journal and other resources to ten dietitians) ($4,000 to have a booth)
  •  
  • We had to run a reprint of our "I Love Animals and Broccoli Coloring Book." $10 covers coloring books for one class, $1500 pays for the reprint of our whole supply. Donations can be made at: [ https://www.vrg.org/donate ] . Please write in the comments the purpose of your donation.
  •  
  • You can make a one time, quarterly, monthly, or an annual donation. To make a donation, call (410)-366-8343 M-F 9:00-5:00, mail a check to The Vegetarian Resource Group at PO Box 1463, Baltimore MD, 21203, or visit [ http://www.vrg.org/donate ]. Please be sure to let us know which project you would like your contribution to fund. Thank you for supporting The Vegetarian Resource Group!

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11) VRG ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Follow or Like The Vegetarian Resource Group on social media and stay up to date on what we're working on, events in your area, new vegan products and vegan restaurants :

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12) ABOUT THE VEGETARIAN RESOURCE GROUP & VRG NEWS

Our health professionals, activists, and educators work with businesses and individuals to bring about healthful changes in your school, workplace, and community. Registered dietitians and physicians aid in the development of nutrition-related publications and answer member and media questions about vegetarian diets. The Vegetarian Resource Group is a non-profit organization. Financial support comes primarily from memberships, donations, bequests, and book sales. The Vegetarian Journal, a print magazine, is a benefit of membership in The VRG. (For more information, please see the Vegetarian Journal online [ https://www.vrg.org/journal/ ] )

If you would like to make a donation, become a member, volunteer, or find out more about The VRG, contact us at:

The Vegetarian Resource Group
P.O. Box 1463
Baltimore, MD 21203
Phone: (410) 366-8343
FAX: (410) 366-8804
E-mail: [email protected] or to volunteer: Gene at [email protected] Website: [ https://www.vrg.org/ ]

VRG-NEWS is the e-mail newsletter of The Vegetarian Resource Group. This is an announcement list so subscriber messages are not accepted by the list. If you have a technical question about the list, please contact us at [email protected]. If you have any suggestions, ideas, or corrections to VRG-NEWS, please direct them to [email protected]. Thanks. If you are a new subscriber, you might enjoy reading past issues of VRG-NEWS online at
https://www.vrg.org/vrgnews/ ]

The VRG is an educational non-profit group providing information on vegetarianism and veganism. To subscribe to VRG-NEWS, go to

https://www.vrg.org/vrgnews/ ]

To unsubscribe, or otherwise manage your subscription to VRG-NEWS, go to

[ http://lists.vrg.org/mailman/listinfo/vrg-news_lists.vrg.org ]
(Go to the bottom of the page where it says "unsubscribe" or "edit options". You do not need a password.)

Copyright The Vegetarian Resource Group 2018 The contents of this newsletter, 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 own best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

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