vegansaurus!

Help a vegan chef deliver delicious vegan food to Philadelphians, get yummy treats!  »

My friend Jess alerted me to this project and as I’m so totally busy because I’m super important, she was kind enough to do a write up for me. I’ve actually had brunch at Miss Rachel’s and can attest that it’s fantastico. Read on!:

Want to support a vegan business in Philadelphia and be rewarded with delicious thank-you gifts? 

Miss Rachel’s Pantry is a meal delivery service and catering company in Philly that needs your help to get a new, more eco-friendly van for roaming the Philadelphia countryside delivering vegan treats and goodies to the masses.

Miss Rachel’s been in the Philadelphia vegan catering scene for many years, catering punk shows and delivering bagged lunches. Her most recent venture is a storefront on Passyunk Avenue that serves four-course vegan farmhouse dinners and offers catering for weddings and parties. 

A $25 contribution will get you a limited edition Miss Rachel’s tote bag filled with vegan sweets, and larger contributions will win free brunch, farmhouse dinners and gift certificates.

Hella Vegan Eats pop-ups this Saturday in S.F. and also, help them start a food truck!  »

We love Hella Vegan Eats a lot. Like, tons and tons. All the love! And anyone who enjoys super delicious food feels the same way and that’s a fact! So, we’re psyched to see the menus for their pop-up brunch and dinner this Saturday at Dear Mom in the Mission! Hooray, let’s go:

As anyone with one or two eyes can see, these menus are filled with insanely delicious sounding food so you better bust your butt over there and eat it all! And also, donate to Hella Vegan Eats Indiegogo campaign because we so sososososoooo want them to be successful and serve us mean dean doughnut burger supremes forever! Seriously, if we don’t support this amazing ladies-owned vegan business and they don’t get off the ground then the republicans have already won and we should all just donate our brains and vaginas to science* because honey, trust me, you will not want them in this new scary world. Support them if you don’t want to face a United States that’s basically the set of the alternate present in Back to the Future 2. You know what I’m talking about! Marty’s mom is an alcoholic hooker married to Biff who is the president of the world and biker gangs shoot grandmas in the street and there’s no longer a sun and Crispin Glover is dead or becomes a club kid or something. Point is, that’s our future if we don’t support Hella Vegan Eats. Do it. To it.

*while it still exists. hang in there, science!!!

Vegan Corner: the ultimate online vegan community!  »

Say hello to Vegan Corner! It’s “building a nexus between vegans and local business!” It’s basically like a much awesomer Yelp for vegans, so I’m pretty pumped. And guess what! There’s an entry for Vegansaurus! I just looked, and we were already on it! But we have no reviews. Give us reviews! But only good ones because Laura’s a cryer. JK! She’s tough as nails! I’m the cryer. But only in my apartment in the dark with the curtains drawn and the mirrors covered. 

They are already up but they are raising funds to be even cooler. I’m into the perks. I want a t-shirt. I need to be less of a rascal and more of a billboard for veganism!

Save Kate’s Joint in NYC!  »

A New York staple in the veg community has fallen on hard times! Kate’s Joint needs to raise $30,000 dollars to pay back rent before April 11 or they have to close down for good:

Kate’s Joint, vegetarian restaurant and bar, has been a staple in New York City’s East Village since 1996. Solely owned and operated by neighborhood native Kate Halpern, who dreamt to create an affordable restaurant to serve the community she grew up in. Kate’s Joint has grown to become much more than just a business, it is a home for locals and travelers a like, a place to bring family and friends, and to meet new ones.

Unfortunately, with the changing neighborhood and economic recession Kate’s Joint has seen a fall in business and rise in costs. Kate is currently in arrears with the landlord. Eviction notices have been sent, court appearances have been made, and if a substantial amount of money is not raised by April 11, the next court date, the doors will shut permanently at Kate’s Joint. The East Village will lose another neighborhood landmark.

Of Kate’s Joint, Laura has proclaimed: “It’s really good!” Meave dragged an omnivore friend there once and they both loved it. (The friend became a repeat customer!) So if you can, donate! If you can’t, then at least spread the word to your rich friends! Pass this page along!

Vegan bakery needs help expanding into the wonderful world of espresso!  »

It’s the latest and greatest vegan endeavor to take over the world! Seattle-based vegan bakery Bouteloua Bakery, which reader Bryan tells me makes the best vegan croissants ever, is looking to expand their business to include espresso, in all its glory. But they need our help! Enter IndieGoGo! Bouteloua is trying to raise enough money to buy an espresso machine, among other things, and enough funds to hire some new people! Nice. Besides making the best vegan croissants ever, Bouteloua is also all organic and serves fair trade coffee from The Vashon Island Coffee Roasterie.

I know, some of you are like, “Megan, I don’t live any where near Seattle!” but guess what! I asked the owner (another Megan! Megans unite!) and she said if you go in for the $10 perk or the $50 perk, she will mail chocolate chip cookies to you! You won’t get the free drink on the $50 perk but that should cover shipping. So, you get to help a young vegan business and get some vegan cookies to boot. More importantly, you’re supporting another step in total vegan dominance! Huzzah!

Help Olympia, Wash., get its own vegan store!  »

Lesli Baker is a vegan from Olympia, Wash., who wants to open a vegan lifestyle shop there! She’s calling it Oly Vegan, and says it will be “the ONLY all vegan lifestyle shop between Seattle and Portland!” That is a big deal!

Lesli is fundraising for Oly Vegan through IndieGoGo right now, and of the $4,000 she needs, she has raised $910. Not enough! And it expires on Sunday, Nov. 20, less than two weeks from today!

According to Lesli, Oly Vegan “will carry delicious vegan gourmet chocolate truffles and marshmallow treats and snacks, packaged food items, clothing, handbags and shoes, t-shirts, body care products (and vegan makeup for the ladies!) book totes and laptop bags, ceramics, glassware and more with a vegan theme. We also plan to host events and charity fundraisers, interesting classes and in-stores. This will be a destination store that does more than sell cool t-shirts to its customers, but also sincerely tries to give back to its community.”

Those are really admirable goals, you guys. Let’s help Lesli out, and get Olympia a vegan store! Every town deserves one!

NYC may get a vegan grocery store! Help make it a reality!  »

As you may have heard, New York City is mighty close to having its very own vegan convenience store. The brainchild of Eric Hopf, Vegan Bodega is currently in its early stages of development, with an IndieGoGo page up for community fundraising and awareness. Vegan Bodega plans to carry everything a vegan could need—healthy food items, vegan junk food, household products, vegan condoms, baby food, beer—imagine not having to read a label! Finally, a real one-stop-shopping experience right here in the Big Apple.

I talked to Eric about the project and how we can help bring it to life!

Vegansaurus: Tell us about Vegan Bodega. What inspired the idea?
Eric Hopf: Like many other vegans, I traveled to the Pacific Northwest with my partner Gita and we saw Food Fight Grocery and Sidecar For Pigs Peace. I remember thinking, “This is fantastic, we should have something like this in NYC.” Once I returned home, I went back to working in photography and didn’t think about it again until a year ago. The arrival of my daughter was close at hand and I was well overdue for a visit to Orlando, Fla., to see my family; I went down for a long weekend, and that was where the idea came from, that this all-vegan convenience store could be something real. There is a small shop near downtown Orlando that I happened upon [called] Artichoke Red, it’s all-vegan and it’s succeeding. The owner was nice enough to talk with me and answer some of my questions. Again I asked myself: Why doesn’t New York City have something like this? Once I arrived home I started thinking about an all-vegan grocery store and shared my idea with Gita. It was going to be a huge undertaking and very expensive. We scaled back the concept. The name came naturally, as there is nowhere in NYC I can think of without a corner store or “bodega,” as we have all become used to calling them. So the inspiration came partially from other business and from my family who support this dream.

How long have you been vegan? Is your family vegan as well?
Actually I don’t keep track of the length of time, but I know I have been vegan for at least six years now, and both Gita and our daughter are vegan.

Tell us about your IndieGoGo project.
After seeing a few vegan projects make their goals on IndieGoGo and Kickstarter, we thought that it would be an excellent way to raise a portion of the funds we need for opening the business. Crowd-sourcing would also get the vegan community involved with launching a store that so many have told us they have been wishing for. Our goal is to raise $15,000, but we are less than a week and a half from the deadline and are only around 23 percent of the way there. Any contribution is helpful and we are very thankful for anything we get. There are a variety of incentives for donations of $5 and up. The money will be used to secure the location, buy used shelves, a commercial freezer and fridge, the computer setup for handling sales/inventory, and some stock for the soft opening. The store will have a slicer and deli display, but we may need to introduce those after the opening.

Where do you think Vegan Bodega will be located?
We are going to open in Manhattan, most likely on the Lower East Side, as we really like the feel there, [and it’s] close to other vegan spots and lots of public transportation. We are willing to reconsider the location if we find a fantastic space.

What products and/or services will you offer at Vegan Bodega? Will you deliver? What about online ordering?
The plan for Vegan Bodega is to carry a broad spectrum of products, from healthy items to vegan junk food. [We want] to support other local vegan businesses by offering them a space to sell their goods, a focused vegan and vegetarian customer base, and a chance to connect with customers by doing in-store samplings. We are also contacting Community-Supported Agriculture farmers about being a drop-off point. Delivery is something we are looking into and how best we can offer it. Online ordering may be offered in the future, but it is dependent on the demand for it.

What is your planned opening date, and are you organizing an event for the big day?
We do not have one set yet. Currently our focus is on securing a space and locking down all the funding we need. In the meantime, you may soon find us at a weekend food market, as a prelude to what will be available in the store, but that has yet to be finalized. We intend to do a soft opening and get settled in, then have a grand opening party that will also double as a fundraiser for a to-be-determined animal welfare group. Vegan Bodega would also like to support different nonprofits by allocating a portion of the sales once a month.

We’re pretty excited about this project! If you want to help Vegan Bodega reach their fundraising goal, you only have FOUR MORE DAYS to pitch in at their IndieGoGo page. If you don’t have cash to spare, spread the word and show your love by contacting the Vegan Bodega family. The anticipation is killing us!