Welcome to VegWorcester.com!

Welcome to VegWorcester.com! VegWorcester is a not-for-profit community group that advocates vegetarian living in Central MA (Want to know more? Read “What is VegWorcester?“).

Here you’ll find a list of awesome vegetarian-friendly restaurants in the Worcester area, some great veg-friendly cafes and also some grocery stores. You can also keep up-to-date on local veg news and culture by reading the VegWorcester blog. Be sure to subscribe to get updates in your RSS feed reader.

Latest from the blog

Got Any Veg-Friendly Restaurant Tips?

It’s time to revamp our popular veg dining guide. Got any tips on good restaurants?

orange-mock-chicken

Finding tasty vegan food at restaurants is rarely a problem, especially in Worcester. These days nearly every restaurant has good veg options on their menu. Last Spring VegWorcester printed a large number of veg dining guides and distributed them to curious Worcesterites. We are now on the third annual printing of the Guide to Vegetarian Dining in Worcester. Want to help? Look through our online listing at VegWorcester.com/restaurants and see if there are any good spots missing. Send any tips to info@VegWorcester.com or comment below.

2009 Edition: A Huge Success

Last year’s print edition featured 26 listings and a handful of events. We distributed a total of 8,000 copies–5,000 full color copies and 3,000 black and white copies.В  These guides are a great tool for showing Worcesterites that being vegan is an easy way to help animals and the reduce our ecological impact. It’s also a great way to send some love to local biz that feature vegan items on their menus.

Over the course of a year, we handed out the 8k guides while tabling at community events, at shows, on college campuses, in Worcester highschools, at our vegan feed-in’s, and at lots of other events. You can download a pdf of last year’s guide.

Going bigger, going bolder

This year we’re going bigger with the guide. To start, we’re going to double our color printing to 10,000 copies. That means that as we get closer to publishing it, we’re going to need to ask more of y’all to step up and volunteer to distribute it. Look out for more details soon.

Post your tips!

So if you know any solid, veg-friendly restaurants, cafes, bakeries or other spots in the Worcester area, post them here. Or send an email to info@VegWorcester.com.

August 30, 2010   Posted in: 2009 Vegetarian Dining Guide, Grocery Stores, Restaurants & Businesses, Veg Advocacy, Vegetarian Dining Guide 2008  No Comments

The Vegan Bus is Coming to Worcester this Sunday [Event]

“The vegan bus is a vehicle of transformation.”

vegan bus

The Vegan Bus crew is coming to Worcester this Sunday, August 29 to give away free samples of vegan baked goods in Elm Park, play some music, then go to Loving Hut for a special lunch and short presentation. You should come out for the fun. Meet them in Elm Park at 11am or swing by Loving Hut on Chandler at Noon for a presentation and lunch. (See schedule below.)

Based out of Northampton, MA, The Vegan Bus is a big old school bus that drives around to community events, advocating veganism. They giving out free sample of tasty food (much like our vegan “feed-ins” in Worcester) and encourage people to think of the animals confined in factory farms. The bus itself runs on waste vegetable oil, collected from local restaurants.

What’s the Vegan Bus All About?

If you’ve been to Loving Hut in Worcester, you’ve no doubt caught a glimpse of Supreme Master TV (SMTV). With two giant flat-screens playing it all the time, it’s hard to miss. SMTV recently did a short film about the vegan bus that explains what the project is all about. They’ll be showing it at the Sunday event, but you can also check out the video on the TheVeganBus.com.





Coming to Worcester This Sunday

Loving Hut on Chandler is celebrating by having a a vegan feast, featuring special items that don’t normally appear on their menu. The meal will be buffet style. The bus crew will be giving a short presentation on their work and Loving Hut will be presenting the vegan bus with a $1,500 donation. Hopefully, this event will include a comically large check.

Schedule

  • 9:00 AM: Leave Northampton
  • 11:00 AM: Vegan Bus Activity at Elm Park with vegan treats, performances & leafleting.
  • 12:00PM: Vegan Bus showing in front of Loving Hut
  • 12:30PM: Lunch at Loving Hut
  • 1:00PM: Donation presentation
  • 1:15PM: Speech from the Vegan Bus
  • 2-3 PM: Leave Worcester

Facebook event

RSVP to the facebook event, and invite your friends.

August 24, 2010   Posted in: Activism, Buddha Hut, Events, Leafleting, Tabling & Outreach, Restaurants & Businesses, Veg Advocacy  No Comments

Massive National Egg Recall

eggs-hens

This past week saw a huge egg recall in the US. News reports estimate the number of salmonella-contaminated eggs somewhere around 228 million. The tainted eggs originated in Iowa, but cases of related illnesses have appeared in Minnesota, Colorado, and California. There are 13 brands involved, including store-brands from leading national supermarkets. The FDA is conducting an investigation into the Iowa firm, but it’s unlikely that this will deal with the root of the problem.

What is Salmonella?

salmonella

Salmonella is a disease spread largely by contact with feces. Symptoms include fever, cramps, diarrhea, and more serious consequences in people with compromised immune systems. Wikipedia says:

About 142,000 Americans are infected each year with Salmonella enteritidis from chicken eggs, and about 30 die.[18] The shell of the egg may be contaminated by feces or environment, or its interior (yolk) may be contaminated from the shell or from a hen whose infected ovaries contaiminate the egg. [19][20], but the rate of egg yolk contamination is theoretically unlikely [21] [22] [23] [24] and in natural conditions was found to be very small (0.6% in a study of naturally externally infected eggs[25] and 3.0% in artificially and heavily infected hens[26]).

The Root of the Problem: Factory-farming

Every year, millions of hens are crammed into tiny metal cages. These factory-farms are filthy and overcrowded. It should come as no surprise that the eggs that these birds are laying are contaminated with diseases. In addition to being cruel to animals, animal agri-business poses a serious risk to human health.

August 21, 2010   Posted in: News  No Comments

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