By Steve Erlsten, VO Northern California Outreach Coordinator

It was the morning on the third week of my seven-week leafleting road trip. My day in San Bernardino, CA started when the alarm went off at 6:45 am. I quickly brushed my teeth and hustled to my car, which was packed with boxes.

I’d left my apartment in Berkeley, CA at the beginning of my tour with 25 thirty-eight pound boxes, each containing a thousand animal-saving booklets.

After I jumped in my car, I ate a Trader Joe’s vegan cinnamon roll while zipping through the beginnings of rush hour traffic. By 7:30 am, I was in action—trying to catch the initial arrival of students at Cal State in San Bernardino!

I like to start leafleting early in the day because the initial rush of students usually has a great take rate—it’s often effective to catch them coming in from the parking lot or their dorms.

I’d checked AdoptACollege.org—a website maintained by VO that contains a wealth of information about each school that volunteers and VO staff have done outreach at—and I’d also spoken with VO’s Director of Outreach, Vic Sjodin, the night before. Vic had previously leafleted Cal State San Bernardino, and I wasn’t familiar with the layout or the best leafleting spots.

I was disappointed by the flow of foot traffic at the first location I tried. I checked out a couple of other suggested spots, but they didn’t seem promising either. I decided to skip ahead to the prime mid-day spot near the library. It worked out great!

There was a steady stream of students with huge rushes at every class change. Most importantly, there were new students passing me at each class change. I wasn’t repeatedly meeting the same students or having to rotate leafleting locations.

I started the day with 2,000 booklets—I handed out booklets continuously for 6 and a half hours. By 2:00 pm, there were still plenty of new students arriving for afternoon and evening classes, so I decided to stay on campus and continue leafleting.

As I trekked back to the car to get a few hundred more booklets, I realized I could set a new record for the number of booklets passed out at this school if I leafleted for just a few more hours! I re-energized with a Clif Bar and refilled my water bottle.

Throughout the day, I had dozens of great conversations! Too many to recount in detail!

Some of my favorite conversations included a chat with a woman named Glenda, whose daughter had been asking to go vegan. I spoke with her for 15 minutes or so, answered her questions, and gave her two of VO’s Guides to Cruelty-Free Eating (GCFE).

The most rewarding moment, however, was meeting James—pictured below. He’d been vegetarian since receiving a booklet from VO last year. He and I spoke for a few minutes, and he told me he was excited to try to go vegan with the help from the GCFE booklet I gave him.

I took an hour break from 2:00 to 3:00 pm and from 4:00 to 5:00 pm when foot traffic was slower. By 6:00 pm, I’d set a record for this university for the most number of booklets handed out in one day.

When the campus started to empty out, I left to get dinner—I was hungry! I ate a cheeseless pizza at a nearby Papa John’s. At 9:00 pm, after watching a few episodes of Better Call Saul in my car and returning a few emails, I drove to my host’s house in a nearby city.

I’d contacted this host on CouchSurfing.com—we’d never met before. We spoke for an hour or so after I arrived. He wasn’t familiar with VO, but was enthusiastic about the work we do. Interestingly enough, he told me that he’d been vegan for four years and applies his experiences of being vegan to his work with respiratory patients.

Sometime shortly after midnight I fell asleep. My alarm rang again at 6:00 am that next morning and I was up and ready to drive to another school to do it all again!

I love my job, and I love that VO has such amazing donors and volunteers to keep our work going! And I want to give a huge shout-out to our other VO Outreach Coordinators who are doing this work in different parts of the world!

Your donations make Steve’s work possible. If you want to see even more people go veg next year, donate now to our Half Million Dollar Challenge and your donation will be matched! Thank you!

By Lori Stultz, VO Rocky Mountain Outreach Coordinator

At Vegan Outreach we are working against several forms of injustice—both directly and indirectly. The most obvious injustice we’re working to end, animals being exploited for food.

The clothing industry faces issues with many forms of injustice to both animals and humans. Animals, humans, and the environment are brutally mistreated and exploited, and it’s a problem of which many people are unaware.

We’d like to introduce you to a friend of ours who’s actively working against this type of injustice: Jean White.

Jean, a Seattle resident and vegan boutique owner, is improving the fashion industry. Jean’s boutique, Drizzle & Shine, is a unique clothing and accessory store that only carries a combination of fair trade, organic, local, USA-made, and/or recycled items—allowing customers to shop with a peace of mind.

Inspired by her dedication helping to alleviate the injustices of the fashion industry, Vegan Outreach caught up with Jean to find out more about her.

Let’s meet Jean!

Lori Stultz: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Jean White: I’m a Canadian transplant to the Pacific Northwest. I moved to Seattle from Toronto in 2000—the same year I went vegan!

Growing up in a big city like Toronto was a lot of fun. I had access to great museums, parks, and restaurants. But I was very removed from my food sources in this urban environment. Meat was just a frozen package in the grocery store.

I had the opportunity to live in a small town in Germany when I was ten years old. I’ll never forget the day I saw a pig being slaughtered! I went vegetarian right away. I didn’t even know the word for it but I stopped eating meat. My parents were very supportive. After graduating from university, I read Diet for a New America and learned about how laying hens and dairy cows are mistreated and killed for eggs, cheese, and milk. I went vegan and my family soon followed.

I was really fortunate to get connected with the Seattle vegan scene early on. I have a great group of compassionate friends and activists. I love volunteering with NARN (the Northwest Animal Rights Network).

When I’m not working or volunteering, my husband and I enjoy the Seattle music scene and the natural beauty of the area. We have three rescued cats and an old, rescued dog.

Lori: How old were you when you started taking an interest in fashion? Did you attend school for fashion design or business management? Or was this something that came about in a totally different way?

Jean: It’s funny, but I’ve always liked fashion. I had influences from my mom—who grew up a very stylish boho hippy in the 60s—and my grandmother—who was into more tailored, high fashion.

I found my own style early on and really just enjoyed clothing as an artistic expression. Even as a four-year-old, I picked out my own clothing and reminded my mom that, “I have my own taste, you know.”

I’ve worked in clothing stores in the past but my background isn’t fashion-related. I studied English literature in school and worked as a technical editor and writer for over 15 years.

Lori: How did you come to learn about the ethical issues of the fashion industry?

Jean: Working in technical writing was challenging and interesting, but I needed an outlet for style and fashion. That’s why I started my style blog, Jean of all Trades.

At that time, I was still buying some second-hand, non-vegan items (vintage clothing with wool or silk, for example). I figured the items existed, so why not use them and keep them out of landfills?

But the more I thought about it, the more uncomfortable I was. I didn’t want to promote animal products or send the message that one can’t be stylish without exploiting animals. So I learned about fantastic vegan lines like Vaute Couture, Cri de Coeur, Mat & Nat, and NICORA and I started incorporating them into my wardrobe.

Please tune in next Tuesday, July 26 to learn more about Jean’s boutique and enter our Drizzle & Shine gift basket giveaway!

By Taylor Radig, VO Campaigns Manager

Vegan Outreach has launched a petition urging California Pizza Kitchen to add a vegan cheese pizza to their menu and over 23,000 people have already let them know they’d support this animal-friendly dish!

With 30 million lactose-intolerant Americans, vegans aren’t the only customers who’d purchase a dairy-free option. In fact, the vegetarian and vegan food market has been exploding recently and is predicted to grow even further. Many popular chains have added a vegan cheese pizza—including Pieology, MOD Pizza, zpizza, Amici’s, and Blaze Pizza.

California Pizza Kitchen is currently expanding their menu, so it’s a perfect time for them to reel in the millions of vegan, dairy-intolerant, and health-conscious consumers and become the largest pizza company in the U.S. to offer a vegan version of one of America’s favorite foods!

Help us show California Pizza Kitchen they have a market for a delicious vegan cheese pizza by signing our petition!

Thank you!

By Jamila Alfred, VO Maryland/DC Events and Outreach Coordinator

A few weeks ago I met up with the tremendously talented triplets of 3 Twisted Vegans (3TV)—who make the most delicious vegan comfort food in Washington, DC.

As relatively new businesswomen, triplets Rhoni, Rhone’t, and Rhoneika Jacobs feature their sensational all-vegan menu as a pop-­up restaurant at EatsPlace, near the Georgia Ave-Petworth Metro Station in DC.

I wandered into their pop-­up location with a mouthful of questions and ended up with a mouthful of fries!

As soon as my order of the Rudeboy burger, sweet potato fries, and peanut butter Oreo milkshake hit my table, I went to town with no traces of food left. It’s just so hard to explain how tasty this meal was! The tastes were nostalgic, the textures were spot on, and the homemade sauces were absolutely delicious!

If the food itself wasn’t enough, the sisters were an absolute delight! Despite only being in the early 20s, they were as wise and strong as elders. The more we talked, the more evident it became that these three sisters were beyond passionate about their work.

I’m excited to introduce you to this vegan trio—let’s get to it!

Jamila Alfred: Where did you grow up?

Rhoni Jacobs: We grew up right here in Washington, DC—maybe 2 or 3 minutes away.

Jamila: What’s your collective vegan story?

Rhoneika Jacobs: We went vegan pretty much overnight. Rhoni woke up one morning and said, “Let’s just go vegan!” We had never heard of it or been around people who were vegan. We usually go grocery shopping every Sunday, and she told us on Friday that she wanted us to go vegan, so we had no choice but to get vegan food.

We kind of argued about it for a while because the first thought I had was, “I’m going to be hungry!” We literally just did it overnight. At the grocery store that Sunday, we shopped all vegan and we continued up to now.

Jamila: What is 3TV and how did it come to be?

Rhone’t Jacobs: We would say that 3TV is good food that happens to be vegan. And we put the word “vegans” in our name—even when people didn’t think it was a good idea—because we don’t want people to be afraid of vegan food.

When people think of vegan food they equate it to like a salad, rice, or something small. We’re not small people, so we don’t eat light. We want people’s minds to be changed about how they see vegan food—it could be comfort food, it could be fast food, it could be fatty food. It doesn’t have to be this little salad. We don’t like stuff like that. Everybody needs comfort food!

Jamila: What makes you different from other vegan vendors?

Rhoni: Our food tastes better because we season it like we did in the past. If you can’t cook non-­vegan food, then you can’t cook vegan food. We brought all of our experience with cooking non-­vegan food to vegan food.

Jamila: Did you come across any cooking challenges after you became vegan?

Rhoneika: We’re Jamaican and we thought we’d have a hard time cooking vegan Jamaican food because of certain foods like curried goat, oxtail, beef patties, and stuff like that. Our grandmother is the best cook ever and we wanted to have our food embody the authentic Jamaican flavors she created. Honestly, if you tasted our food, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between our grandmother’s and ours.

Jamila: What’s your favorite music to play while cooking?

Rhone’t: We all agree that it’s rap music! I think it gives you this motivational feeling, but it depends on who you listen to. I listen to Meek Mill, and it’s something that gets you motivated at the gym. Same with cooking—it puts you in the mood to cook. You listen to people you’re relatable to, and he always talks about starting from the bottom or starting from nowhere.

That’s how we feel about Nicki Minaj, too—we love her!

Jamila: Thank you, Rhoni, Rhone’t, and Rhoneika for taking the time to talk to us about your new business!

It’s obvious that these intelligent sisters will surely go far!

Take my advice and drop by EatsPlace in DC on Saturdays from 5:00 pm – ­9:30 pm to get the twisted experience!

By Lori Stultz, VO Rocky Mountain Outreach Coordinator

At the beginning of the year, when I drove through San Antonio, TX to leaflet the four college campuses in and right outside the city, I have to be honest and admit that I didn’t have high expectations.

I wasn’t expecting the students to be as receptive as they were when I handed them VO booklets, or was I expecting the city of San Antonio to be as lively, fun, and veg-friendly as it is—check out the blog post I wrote earlier in the year to get the full scoop on the veg scene in this city.

In fact, I think San Antonio was one of my favorite places I toured through last spring, and it was by far one of the most memorable weeks I had while living on the road.

Most if not all of this was due to the lovely host I stayed with, Kaz Sephton. Despite being the president of the San Antonio Vegan Society, helping rescue and foster stray dogs—San Antonio has one of the highest stray dog populations in the U.S., taking care of her five special needs dogs, and working full time, she made it a point to show me all the unique places in the city and to take me to all the restaurants that served delicious vegan food.

Throughout the entire week we spent together, I kid you not, I spent the majority of that time doubled over in laughter because of Kaz’s amazing sense of humor, and I remember wishing I could stay in San Antonio longer.

Kaz’s dedication to helping animals is inexhaustible, so I wasn’t the least bit surprised when she recently announced that she’d joined a few other animal-loving folks to open a highly unusual shop called Munch On and Beyond.

Chris Sauve, founder of the San Antonio vegan snack company Munch On!, opened Munch On and Beyond in mid-July. She had enough left-over space to let three other vegan food companies move in with her—My Tea Soul; Papi Agave Paletas, Fiestas y Más; and Famous Juice Co.—as well as Kaz’s resale store called Golden Horn of Plenty Resale Shop.

Golden Horn of Plenty is a simple 100 sq. foot room within Munch On and Beyond, and it’s filled to the brim with donated goods—like clothes and household items. 100% of the proceeds from Kaz’s shop go to the Golden Horn Foundation—pending nonprofit status—which goes towards rescuing, providing medical care, and finding forever homes for stray dogs.

If you ask me, bringing multiple small vegan businesses together to work individually, yet as part of one large operating business is such an awesome and inspiring idea for anyone who might be considering starting a vegan business. Teaming up with other people inevitably creates a bigger pool of resources, which yields a greater chance at raising awareness about living a vegan lifestyle.

Needless to say, my love for San Antonio pretty much went through the roof knowing that Munch On and Beyond now exists within this surprisingly veg-friendly city!

So if you’re in or near the San Antonio area, go grab yourself a delicious vegan goodie, plan some time to do some thrifting, and don’t be shy about sharing your experience in the comment section below!