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What vegan finds do you have at YOUR local Dollar Tree?

The fantastic folks over at Vaute designed four shirts whose sales will benefit Vegan Outreach. $5 from the sale of each top will go to VO!

The shirts are $35 each and are all sustainably printed in Brooklyn. They were designed by Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart and illustrated by Jessica-Joan Causing.

Eats His Veggies Tank

Eats Her Veggies Tank

Eats His Veggies T-shirt

Eats Her Veggies T-shirt

Get yours today and spare animals from suffering while you shop!

By Lori Stultz, Outreach Coordinator

Last week, in celebration of students’ return to school, the folks at Vegan Outreach offered a few helpful pointers for leafleting.

Today we wanted to discuss a similar form of activism: tabling. Like leafleting, tabling can be an effective way for students to educate others about factory farming and other animal abuse related issues. It provides a great platform to engage in conversation and offer information and advice on how others can most effectively help prevent animal suffering. That is, through reduction of their meat and dairy consumption.

Most often, tabling is done as a group activity (perhaps with an animal advocacy group on campus), but it can also be done solo. Before setting up a table on campus, though, you will need to check in with the campus student activities center to find out where and when you can table on campus. Many campuses have designated locations and times that are acceptable for tabling.

Whether you’re by yourself or with a group of animal-loving friends, your information will be more compelling if you keep these things in mind:

Appearance and Displays

• Personal appearance is crucial! Instead of dressing in counterculture attire, which may send the message to your audience that your worldview is radically different from theirs, dress conservatively. Be clean and well-groomed. This will prevent your audience from assuming that you’re not relatable.
• Make sure your visual displays clearly and simply relay your message. Think big pictures and big words—limit the amount of small text on your display.
• Limit your available materials to one or two issues. Don’t overwhelm your audience by offering literature on five or six different issues. And when laying literature out on the table, fan it in a straight row (instead of a semi-circle). This detail may seem insignificant, but it will drastically increase the rate at which your audience picks up the literature and reads it.

Conversation

• Actively listen to your audience members. Acknowledge their valid points and observations and ask thought-provoking questions. Find issues that you agree on (common ground). They are much more likely to listen if you’re coming from a place of commonality instead of difference.
• If your audience says they are unable to make a lifestyle change (e.g., “I could never give up meat” or “I could never afford to go vegan/vegetarian”), offer your personal experience of the lifestyle changes they are concerned about. For example, if someone claims that he or she could never give up meat, you could respond by saying, “I used to feel the same way, and at first, I just cut back on meat. Now that I’m vegan, I’ve found that I really don’t miss meat. In fact, I feel good about my diet and am more at peace with the world around me.”
• Refrain from getting into an argument. Some audience members may try to start an argument by saying something rude or obnoxious. They are usually doing this because they are uncomfortable with their own emotions in relation to the topic. Therefore, rather than reacting hastily, simply smile and wish them a good day. Remember that you’re the spokesperson for the animals.

Keeping these points in mind will ensure a successful tabling experience! And be sure to visit the Vegan Outreach website to find accurate and useful information regarding animal-related issues and tips for how to go veg. You can also order literature to use at your table through our website!

By Jon Camp, Executive Vice President

Great news! Aramark, a food catering company serving over 500 college campuses, will be dramatically expanding its vegan menu. Some of the new options include Vegan Home-Style Pancakes, Butternut & Black Bean Chili, Sesame Noodles, and an assortment of vegan desserts.

This change comes amidst increasing demand for vegan options. According to Scott Jahren, Aramark’s Executive Chef and Director of Culinary Development, “Based on Aramark’s propriety customer feedback platform and dining surveys, the number of students interested in vegan options has continued to steadily increase over the past several years.”

Thank you, Aramark! And thanks to all of you who continue to get out there and do outreach to today’s college students — your work is playing a vital role in these exciting changes we’re seeing.

Win a free one-on-one Vegan Mentor Session with Jamie Kilstein, comedian, cohost of Citizen Radio, and coauthor of #NEWSFAIL. With Jamie’s mix of humor, compassion, and insight, we know you’ll find this session both helpful and hilarious.

Complete the form below by next Friday, Sept. 11, for your chance to win!

And check out Jamie on Twitter @jamiekilstein and Instagram @VeganMMA, and pre-order his new album.

By Lori Stultz, Outreach Coordinator

With the fall semester right around the corner (or for you lucky students who are already in the full swing of attending classes and completing assignments), the Vegan Outreach crew wanted to send along a few helpful reminders for when you are taking a break from studying and getting out to leaflet! Whether it’s your first time, or you cannot remember how many times you have leafleted, these tips can make a positive difference on the number of booklets you hand out!

These tips come straight from the experienced leafleting pros here at Vegan Outreach!

The Best Time to Leaflet

Weekdays are best. 8 AM is usually the first class start time and it slows down around 3 PM. We realize 8 AM is early, but many of the larger schools are constantly leafleted and petitioned by other groups. Arriving early generally ensures you won’t have to compete for the students’ attention.

And if you only have an hour or two, we recommend lunchtime (11 AM–1 PM). Some schools, including many community colleges, continue to have a flow of student traffic past 5 PM.

Permission

Some schools allow leafleting by outsiders, while others do not. Public universities are supposed to allow it according to federal court decisions, but some do not follow such rules and others try to limit leafleting by requiring that you register and limiting where you can stand.

Many schools within cities provide a flow of students on public sidewalks where they can easily be handed a leaflet!

More info on the legal issues surrounding leafleting and what to do if you are stopped can be found on the page Legal Questions About Leafleting.

Where to Stand

At large schools, generally the most students will be found near the student union or library. However, it may be wise to try and find alternative spots to leaflet if the school is constantly leafleted or petitioned because students will be used to rejecting leafleters in these common spots.

At smaller schools, or schools that are not leafleted often, the busiest spots are often the best. Consider staking out a few different spots and rotating between them during busy class changes to reach the maximum number of new students.

Keep in mind that class changes yield the heaviest foot traffic. This is definitely your best time to make an impact!

While leafleting, it’s best not to stay completely stationary. A wider walkway may require you to constantly walk back and forth, approaching as many students as possible. It’s important to stand in the center of the walkway and not off to the side.

Keep in mind that the traffic flow will be going in two directions. You’ll reach the largest number of new students and avoid repeatedly asking the same students if you only leaflet one direction of the flow. If you’re starting very early in the day, you can focus on students going to class or just getting to campus. If you’re starting later in the day focus on students that are coming out of class and possibly leaving campus for the day.

What to Say

Vegan Outreach volunteers have found the following phrases to be effective:

• Help animals
• Info to help animals
• Info on compassionate eating
• Info against animal cruelty
• Brochure against factory farming
• Hello
• Info about where your food comes from
• Info on helping animals and the environment
• Did you get one of these? (especially for tough crowds!)

For a great video explanation of successful leafleting techniques, check out Vic Sjodin’s How to Leaflet? YouTube video.

Nervousness

Trust us, nervousness fades once you’ve offered the booklet to a few people. Don’t be too concerned about knowing every tiny detail about factory farming, the most current investigation, or every philosophical argument for and against vegetarianism. The majority of students will simply accept a booklet and say thank you or decline a booklet and say no thank you anyway. Very few will engage you in conversation and even fewer will grill you on facts. If you don’t know the answer to a question, it’s much better to admit you don’t know than to try and make up something you may have heard. The point is not to win an argument but to get a booklet in their hands and for them to have a positive image of you as a person and your message of compassion.

Our Most Important Tip: Have Fun!

Remember that one person can make a huge difference! The people you leaflet will likely pass information on to others, causing a chain reaction. Even better, if you have a buddy or two (or three or four) to get out and leaflet with you it will guarantee a larger number of people reached and make the time spent leafleting more enjoyable.

Leafleting is generally a very rewarding experience! Who wouldn’t smile knowing that you’re making a positive impact for both animals and people alike?

Vegan Outreach Food & Lifestyle Coordinator, Toni Okamoto, has created a 10-week email series to help people interested in becoming vegetarian or vegan.

Each week, we’ll provide engaging videos, easy-to-follow recipes, and featured vegan products, as well as nutrition tips from Registered Dietitian and VO President, Jack Norris. This will serve as an additional resource to curb veg recidivism and set new vegans up for success!

To sign up for the email series, fill out this form.