THANK YOU, Bay Area Veg Community!

[Guest guest]

Greetings, dear bayareaveg community!

 

I AM JUST SO EXCITED. Next week I'm leaving for a five-day lindy-hop

swing dance " camp " in La Honda (near Monterrey), CA. Those attending

the camp pay a set fee, which includes lodging (in tents and cabins),

dance classes and parties, and 3 meals a day in the cafeteria. I was

afraid that the food would not be vegan-friendly, so I e-mailed the

camp organizers a month in advance, and they put me in touch with the

cafeteria chefs. Then the chefs sent me the detailed menu for all 5

days, asking for SUGGESTIONS on which items they could modify and

possibly prepare as vegan for everyone. (!!!) I remember just

blinking at the e-mail in disbelief when I read it. So I carefully

went through each item on their menu and provided links to recipes for

vegan versions on the web. I didn't know if they would just disregard

what I sent them, but guess what! The cafeteria chefs listened!

Basically they are vegan-izing almost all of their vegetarian options.

For example: they are serving a vegan pasta salad (with italian

dressing and bits of veggies) instead of a macaroni salad made with

mayo, and they are trying out a " new " recipe for a truly VEGAN lasagne

instead of just a " vegetarian " one with tons of cheese in it. Oh, I'm

so excited! They weren't willing to vegan-ize everything (for example,

the cake for dessert; fruit will be available as an alternative), but

they really did change A LOT!

 

THANK YOU, Bay Area Veg, for helping me feel more empowered to speak up

about these things. I've been quiet about my vegan " preferences " for

many years now, not wanting to inconvenience anyone else by

making " special requests. " (Wonder what made me feel that way?

Anyhow, that's how I felt!) If it weren't for Bay Area Veg, I probably

never would have started speaking up. I can pinpoint 2 things that,

thanks to Bay Area Veg, came together to change my behavior: (1) Erik

Marcus' book " Meat Market " (which I read as a result of the book

discussion group that Will Beaseley got together), and (2) Nora

Kramer's Compassionate Living Series presentation on " Effective

Communication. " So, Bay Area Veg, thank you for helping to guide me

toward taking a more active role in supporting what I believe in. It

feels so good to be making a positive difference, rather than just

sitting on the sidelines and wishing things were different.

 

And I'm so excited because this is actually the first time I've had

SUCCESS! I know how it feels on the opposite side: in fact, all last

weekend I was pretty bummed out because I was unsuccessful at getting a

vegetarian option at my college alumni BBQ (where 100's of people were

invited). At the last minute, the organizer decided not to provide

veggie burgers as they were $17 a box at Costco (out of a $300

budget). I brought my own vegan kielbasa to put on the grill, but I

was upset at the organizer for being so insensitive, and he was upset

at me for being upset at him! I felt bad because it seemed like I

didn't accomplish anything other than making everyone upset.

 

After that negative experience, it feels so good to have met with some

degree of success, in the case of the upcoming 5-day lindy dance camp!

Thank you, Bay Area Veg, for helping me feel strong enough to speak up

and make a small difference. As Sara J. says, " Bay Area Veg rocks! "

 

Take care everybody,

Rachel