Vegan food sampling at an eco-village
Solutionary Events
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Overview
In spring of 2017, Solutionary Events of Florida hosted a vegan food-sampling event at St. Petersburg’s Eco-Village. The “Farm to Table Experience” was a successful one-day event where members of the local community were invited to explore an eco-village and learn all about sustainable living, including the benefits of whole-food, plant-based eating. This event provided attendees with insight into healthy plant-based living — and touched on all the senses.
Goals
- To reach primarily a non-veg audience
- To engage the local community in plant-based and eco-friendly living
- To educate attendees about the health benefits of plant-based diets
50
non-vegan attendees
150
vegan food samples distributed
100
pieces of literature distributed
Approach
Event attendees were greeted and given an introduction to the event, with refreshments. The event program included a variety of exciting activities for attendees to learn more about sustainable living and plant-based eating:
- Three vegan speakers (plant-based nutritionists and chefs)
- Vegan and eco-friendly vendors
- Yoga demonstrations
- Enchanted edible garden tours and plant-based trivia
- Snacks, refreshments, and a communal meal
The talks and cooking demos covered the following topics:
- “Type 2 Diabetes – A Lifestyle Disease” lecture by Vanessa Sardi, MS, CHE, CHC
- “Food For The Heart” lecture by Dustin Rudolph, PharmD, BCPS
- Cooking demo and a garden-fresh dinner by renowned Chef Emmanuel Roux
Vegan advocates provided attendees with the chance to win a prize and offered a free bonus — the opportunity to take home a sample of fresh produce from the enchanted edible garden, along with some delicious whole-food and plant-based recipes.
The event’s main meal provided attendees with the opportunity to sample a tantalizing array of plant based produce from the eco village farm, including:
- Organically grown mixed greens salad with oil-free dressing
- Asian-infused stir-fry vegetables, served with steamed organic brown rice
- Apple-pineapple crisp
- Fresh fruit with Chef Emmanuel’s beautiful caramel topping presentation
With amazing food samples and amazing speakers at the event, every person was chatting about changing their lifestyles by the end of the day!
Solutionary Events
The event received very positive feedback from attendees, all of whom were not-vegetarian or non-vegan. Fifty people attended the event, along with staff from the ecovillage where the event took place (most of whom were also not vegan).
Activists served the following vegan food, sampling some of the best in plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy products:
- Follow Your Heart mozzarella and cheddar in cubes on toothpicks
- Gardein mandarin chicken served on toothpicks
- Daiya cheesecake in small biodegradable serving cups
Everyone read the packaging, and many people even took pictures so they could easily find these vegan products when visiting their grocery stores.
Event attendees were interested in the educational literature offered, which included Vegan Outreach and Compassion Over Killing leaflets and brochures. A total of 100 leaflets were taken, and activists also collected a full sheet of sign-ups for people interested in the organizations’ veg guide.
Top Tip
The event venue and setup fostered a community feeling and a flow of conversation and discussion. This is highly valuable for engaging people on important issues and introducing them to new ideas. Getting the venue right for your vegan outreach activity is worth the investment in time.