If you are hosting an event or know of an event happening that you do not see on our events page, please send an email to cherise@veganinnj.com and I'll add it to the page ASAP and include it in my weekly breakdown.
Did everyone have a food filled weekend? Between our dinner party and Vegandale, I'm sure you did! If anyone took pictures from our dinner party in Whippany (with food from The Baklava Lady), please tag us on Instagram: @veganinnj and @thebaklavalady.
October 1st is World Vegetarian Day! Vegetarianism is a great stepping stone to veganism, if you are the kind of person who needs to take their time to form habits. However, being vegan today is actually very easy! If you're vegetarian, don't be afraid to reach out for help! You can email me or reach out on our Facebook group for substitutes for honey, dairy, and eggs or for advice on how to just get them out of your diet. We applaud you for going vegetarian, as that's a huge step, but we encourage you not to stop there!
To celebrate World Vegetarian Day, the Vegetarian Society of South Jersey is hosting a meetup at 1000 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria of Millville to eat some vegan pizza! I'm currently working on a list of pizzerias and restaurants all over the state who carry vegan pizza (as in vegan cheese or more, not just the ones with vegan crust and sauce), so if you know of any, please email me! I've already got quite a few, but hope to include if there's a gluten free (and vegan) crust option, what kind of cheese they carry, and if there's any meatless protein options.
Tuesday is the second of the month, which means Animals First on the Second is upon us again. If you've never heard of this, that's okay, now is a great time to start! We fast on the second of every month, mark an "x" inside a circle on our hands and the conversations will come to you. Learn more about what this all is and why this was started on the AFOTS website, including information on how to get started and participate.
La Vodega Market is hosting a small vegan pop up at Kolo Klub in Hoboken on Wednesday. We will be there, hosting a meetup at 7pm, so come by, pick up some food and hang out! NJ favorites like Freakin' Vegan and How Delish will be there along with a few others. Root Nine Baking Co will be debuting their DELICIOUS chocolate chip cookies at this event! You can even buy the cookie dough to bake at home later. Or eat out of the bag on the way home like I probably will!
NJveg has an outreach event on Saturday in Hightstown and on Sunday at the Somerville Street Fair. Please RSVP to njveg.org@gmail.com or call 609-557-7077. The event on Saturday is from 10am-4pm and the event on Sunday is from 11am-5pm. They could use the most help about an hour before start to set up and at the end to pack up, about a half hour after the end time.
This weekend is the big one! The 3rd annual New Jersey VegFest is at the Meadowlands on Saturday and Sunday. Both days start at 11am and go until 5:30pm. The vendor list is HUGE with a lot of vendors that are new to NJ VegFest events. There will be speakers, chef demos, a kids' zone sponsored by GoGo squeeZ, a vegan cookbook swap, and more! On Saturday, you can find the Cinnamon Snail food truck outside the venue for some of my favorite donuts to start your day or a burger for the ride home. Find the full vendor list and speaker/demo schedule on the Facebook event page or on the NJ VegFest website.
After the NJ VegFest, you can head down to Oakhurst for a vegan hibachi dinner at Takara, hosted by Fun-loving Vegans & Vegetarians-Shore towns of Monmouth Cty. Takara is great because they have a ton of vegan mock meats: chicken, beef, shrimp, salmon, scallops, and probably more I'm forgetting about! It's not listed on their menu, unfortunately, but they do have them and will substitute anything you'd like on their menu. If you let them know if you are vegan, they will also help you navigate which items have egg or any hidden ingredients in them (for instance, their hibachi noodles contain egg, but they will sub for lo-mein or rice noodles for a vegan option).
Every Sunday, the Jersey Shore chapter of Food Not Bombs will be feeding those in need at the Asbury Park Train Station between 4:00 and 5:00. If you want to donate something, contact them via their Facebook page or by emailing them at jerseyshorefoodnotbombs@yahoo.com. They will also be at the NJ VegFest on Saturday only.
Vegan in NJ events scheduled (must be a member of the Facebook group to view):
Thank you to those who came here via the Try Vegan email blast! If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you can learn more about the Try Vegan empire via their meal delivery (use that link for a free meal!), their food truck, or their clothing line!