By Josie Moody, Office Manager

I’m still totally in love with one of Vegan Outreach’s most popular pieces of merchandise, created by VO donor David Barnett, the PopSocket!

What’s a PopSocket? It’s a flat piece of plastic that you stick to the back of your mobile device. You pop it up to create a grip to help you hold onto your phone, to act as a stand for your device, or to wrap your earbuds around to keep them accessible and to keep them from getting tangled. Learn more about it here.

PopSockets were created with the help of a Kickstarter campaign. Since going live in 2014, they’ve been the recipients of much acclaim—from NPR calling them “cool” to the Wall Street Journal noting that they’re the “best that they’ve seen” for creating an instant kickstand for your device.

What has been the best part of my PopSocket experience thus far? Something I’d never even considered—meeting more vegans! In one night, I met two vegans because they saw my customized Vegan Outreach PopSocket!

You too can show your support for Vegan Outreach by purchasing one of our custom PopSockets from the Vegan Outreach website for $10.

By Kimberly Moffatt, Outreach Coordinator

Costa Rica is a country I’ve wanted to visit for years, and I finally made it there this summer. I had the joy of sharing the experience with my partner, Jon.

In the first of this two part series, I’ll share about our vegan eating experiences while touring this beautiful country. In part two, I’ll give the details about the activities we did in between eating!

The first day, we flew into the country’s capital, San José. We stayed in an Airbnb and had access to a kitchen. We made rice and lentils that evening. In the morning we took a bus to La Fortuna, where we stayed at local lodge in the jungle. We had our own bungalow and pool—and the most amazing view of the beautiful Arenal Volcano!

The lodge provided breakfast each morning that consisted of rice and beans, fried plantains, fresh fruit, juice, and delicious Costa Rican coffee. Before digging in, we made sure the rice and beans weren’t made with lard or chicken stock (as that’s pretty common).

While staying in La Fortuna, we did the Two Volcano Extreme Hike. Lunch was provided for us, and consisted of fruit juice, fresh fruit, chips, and a sandwich made with veggies and mushrooms. It wasn’t the most exciting lunch, but for us, it was better than non-vegan food or going hungry! We also found a local fruit market and decided to try a few fruits we’d never had before.

Thanks to Happy Cow, we found a sushi restaurant nearby called Kappa Sushi. The restaurant offered a full vegan menu—including a sushi boat! It had a mixture of plantain rolls, fried tofu skins, vegetable rolls, and other vegan items.

The next day we headed to Monteverde. We checked into our hostel, Monteverde Backpackers—and to our surprise—it had a full kitchen! We walked to a nearby grocery store to pick up a few items, and we ended up chatting with another traveler who invited us to continue our chat over a meal. We cooked green beans, potato and bean tacos, broccoli, and we prepared a small salad with papaya. Our meals for the next few days were roughly the same.

The last few days of our trip were open, so we decided, last minute, to head to Manuel Antonio. Our final hostel also had a kitchen, so we made our favorite bean and potato tacos, and enjoyed more plantain chips than we care to admit.

Manuel Antonio State Park was closed on the Monday we planned to visit, so instead we explored the small town and enjoyed espresso at a local restaurant. There was a coffee shop near our hostel, and it offered soy and almond milk. I ordered a black cold brew and Jon enjoyed a fresh coconut. There weren’t many options to eat in this tourist town, so we cooked for ourselves the remainder of our stay.

While it’s a bit trickier eating out, the grocery stores always offered a wide variety of whole foods—ideal if you have a kitchen—and many packaged vegan items. You can buy soy and almond milk, as well as other specialty foods. However, the prices on those items tend to be marked up quite a bit.

If you’re vegan and interested in going to Costa Rica, rest assured that—even if you have to get a little creative—you can enjoy the beautiful environment and eat completely vegan! I’d recommend staying in a few places where you can cook your own food and pack vegan snack foods for the times you need fuel in a pinch—Jon and I packed a lot of granola, and Clif and LUNA bars for snacking.

And now that you’ve got the scoop on the vegan grub, we’ll see you back here in a few weeks when I share all the fun activities we did while touring the country!

By Taylor Radig, Campaigns Manager

Less than four months ago, WisePies worked with our campaigns team to add vegan cheese to their Tempe, AZ location. The option was so successful that WisePies agreed it was time to offer vegan cheese—Violife—at all ten of their locations.

“Our guests asked for a vegan and dairy-free alternative, and based on their feedback, it is now available in all of our locations,” stated WisePies Pizza & Salad VP of Marketing, Season Elliott. “The Violife brand of dairy-free cheese won overwhelmingly in our blind taste test with close to 70% of guests selecting it. We’re excited to add yet another healthy alternative to our menu.”

To order a vegan pizza at WisePies, order your pie on the traditional or wheat crust with their roasted red bell pepper marinara. Top it with a variety of delicious vegetable and herb toppings.

WisePies currently has locations in New Mexico and Arizona. Within the next year, they’ll be expanding to Nevada, Louisiana, and Texas, where they’ll also be serving the new cheese option.

By Lisa Rimmert, Director of Development

This summer, friend of Vegan Outreach, Mack ARA Freeman, rode his bicycle 880 miles to raise money for animals. Leaving Friday, June 16, he started on the Lewis & Clark Mississippi Bridge in St. Louis, MO, and biked all the way to Ontario, Canada, ending on Sunday, July 2!

I asked Mack about his trip, and you won’t want to miss what he had to say! And if you feel inspired, we’d love to accept a donation in his honor.

Lisa Rimmert: What made you decide to take this bike trip, and what inspired you to use it to raise money for animals?

Mack ARA Freeman: This 2017 Great Lakes/Canada ride was actually my fourth bicycle trip in the past five years. I’d been trying to find a way to help raise funds for valuable animal groups. And then it hit me, I could do it by riding my bike long distances—even though at the age of 58 I’d never done any kind of biking.

In 2013, for my first effort at raising donations for animal rights and welfare organizations, I rode the famous Missouri Katy Bike Trail from St. Louis to Kansas and back. The next year on my way from St. Louis to Mississippi, my ride was cut short due to a bike crash, so I tried again in 2015. That time I made it to Mississippi, reaching the Hope Animal Sanctuary on my 60th birthday!

Last year, I turned my bicycle north from St. Louis and didn’t stop riding until I reached the shore of Lake Superior between Wisconsin and Minnesota—an 820-mile ride. Last summer, I was invited to a Vegan Outreach fundraiser at the home of a friend, and it was then that I thought of riding for Vegan Outreach in 2017.

This year I wanted to “top” my 2016 ride, so I thought I would try to bike to the other end of Lake Superior and pedal all the way to Canada. And that is what I did! I rode through central Illinois and eastern Wisconsin, taking my bicycle on the S.S. Badger—a coal burning steamship—across Lake Michigan. I continued up the northwest side of lower Michigan, into the state’s Upper Peninsula. Finally, I rode across the International Bridge into Canada. I arrived on July 2—my 17th consecutive day of bicycling!

Lisa: What was the hardest part of your journey?

Mack: It would be impossible to recount a cross-state, multiple highway bicycle ride without acknowledging all the animals who had met their demise on the roads, shoulders, and brush along the way. Encountering animal misery while biking through endless rural counties takes a toll on even the most hardened traveler. I’ve made a point to always whisper sad “sorries” to every animal that had crossed over the Rainbow Bridge.

I was honored to visit with many peaceful, loving, gentle animals, and to say quiet affirmations as we looked each other in the eyes. I knew one of us would carry on with life and thrive—and the other would be heartlessly removed from the life they deserved to live.

Lisa: What was your favorite part of the trip?

Mack: Switching gears—pun intended—some of my favorite times included:

• I bicycled 13 miles at breakneck speed—for me—from Sheboygan to Cleveland, WI. I took no water breaks and beat a major evening thunderstorm. I biked into the driveway of my bed and breakfast just as the first heavy raindrops began pelting the ground.
• The next day, June 25, I took the 60-mile ferry ride across Lake Michigan. How great it was to relax and enjoy the great ride across that Great Lake!
• I treasured meeting all the farmed animals that made it to the fences and gates to say “hello.” I stopped for every individual and herded animal. Many of them walked—and some even ran—to meet me! Talk about an unforgettable experience. I met mostly cows, but there were also horses, mules, goats, ducks, and even feral cats.
• And, of course, it felt amazing to bike over the bridge into Canada and reach my goal after 17 perfect days on the road. My air pump never left my bike rack! Tears began streaming down my face in contemplation of my accomplishment.

Lisa: What did you eat on the road?

Mack: You guessed right if you think it’s hard to find vegan food on the road while biking through Corn Cob, America, but I prevailed! For breakfast or lunch in motels or diners, I’d have my standard fare of unbuttered toast with jam, baked potato, or hash browns cooked in veggie oil, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and lots of fruit cups and vegetable slices.

For dinners, I ordered spaghetti with marinara whenever I could—often double orders for carbohydrate building. If no spaghetti was available, then I’d eat meatless chili or milk free soups. Sometimes I would hit Subway for a foot-long Italian bread sandwich, stuffed with tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, and covered in mustard. If a store was near my lodging, I would see what vegan food was available. Once I bought a package of Gardein burgers and ate all four patties! Another time I found a half gallon of Blue Diamond chocolate almond milk. I filled my two bottles with it for the road and drank the rest right there!

Lisa: Do you have plans for any future rides?

Mack: Yes. In 2018, I hope to raise money for animals by riding from St. Louis to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. In 2019, at age 65, I plan to ride to the Florida Gulf Coast. I’ll bike along the entire stretch of the panhandle—all the way to the Atlantic Ocean! And if I have any breath left in 2020, maybe Mexico!

Lisa: Thank you, Mack, for your longtime activism and dedication to making the world better for animals!

Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to Vegan Outreach in honor of Mack’s activism for animals. Thank you!

Following conversations with regional pizza chain WisePies, their Tempe, AZ location is now testing out Daiya’s vegan cheese.

Campaigns Manager, Taylor Radig, explained that with vegan cheese becoming a staple in the pizza industry, cheeseless pizza is now a thing of the past for dairy-avoiders. We couldn’t be more excited to work with the WisePies’ Tempe store to bring vegan cheese options to Arizona. We hope that when their corporate team sees its success, they’ll roll out vegan cheese to all of their locations!

To try this delicious new option simply visit or call for pickup (or order for delivery on Grubhub) and ask for a pizza in any size on their wheat crust with Daiya cheese.

Location Information

521 S. College Ave.
Tempe, AZ 85281
Phone Number: (480) 275-5197

By Josie Moody, Office Manager

Vegan pregnancy and parenting—it’s a hot topic for vegan and non-vegan parents alike. Once an inconceivable idea, it’s now becoming more widely recognized as a safe and healthy diet for children of all ages. And in today’s tech savvy world, that information can be made available within seconds.

Today we have the privilege of interviewing one of the many people who help make that information accessible. Not only does she make it accessible, but she also holds space for conversation, questions, and advice. Let’s meet Janet Kearney, a vegan parent herself and the administrator of the Vegan Pregnancy and Parenting Facebook page.

Josie Moody: How did the Vegan Pregnancy and Parenting Facebook page get started?

Janet Kearney: A few years ago, when I was pregnant with my son, I tried to find some information on veganism and pregnancy. I found the Vegan Pregnancy and Parenting page, but it was full of spam and only had a few hundred members. I contacted the administrator of the page, and she eventually let me take over.

The group has over twenty-five thousand members now, and I still learn new information every day! Who knew baby poop was such a highly discussed topic?

Josie: What are some of the biggest issues vegan parents discuss on the page?

Janet: The topic of vegan baby formula comes up a lot because it’s just not available. I try to remind parents that as vegans we do our absolute best to avoid animal exploitation, but sometimes we have to make peace with the fact that there’s literally no other choice.* I try to encourage the parents by telling them that they’re doing the best they can.

Vegan parents also express frustration about others’ disapproval of their decision to raise their children vegan.

The best advice I’ve heard—and provided—is to just give it time. Vegan parents don’t need to light the bridges and never look back. Most of the time these comments come from well-intentioned family members or friends who genuinely care about the well-being of the children. I try to remind parents that the majority of us were not born vegan, so we need to try to be understanding of others’ fears.

*There are soy formulas available, but almost all brands are not strict 100% vegan formulas due to processing vitamin D3 with sheep’s wool.

Josie: What’s the biggest shift you’ve seen in vegan parenting since becoming a mother?

Janet: The biggest shift is just a growth in veganism in general. A few years ago, telling someone my husband and I planned to raise our children vegan would lead to an inbox full of emails—sent by concerned friends who’d pass along links to pages that discussed how raising children vegan was a bad idea. Now, we tell people our kids are vegan and they engage in a positive conversation. They’re usually quick to tell us about other vegan families they know.

Josie: I’ve heard a lot of parents express concern that if their kids are vegan they will “miss out” on “normal” life experiences, such as Halloween or friends’ birthday parties. Is this something that comes up on the Facebook page?

Janet: Yes, it does. Personally, my kids haven’t missed out on anything. Put simply, other people adapt. And if on the occasion my kids go to a party where I know there won’t be anything for them to eat, I just bring along a cupcake and snacks. If it’s a pizza party, I’ll ask the host if I can chip in a few dollars for some vegan slices or I’ll bring some of my own.

Josie: I heard you’re going to be starting a Vegan Pregnancy and Parenting website. When will that go live?

Janet: Hopefully we’ll launch the site in August. We’ll have a vegan doctor, midwife, doula, and nutritionist on board, along with recipe developers. We’ll also feature other people who just write their own amazing blogs and vlogs. It’s all coming together.

Josie: One last question—what are your and your kids’ favorite snacks?

Janet: My kids and I love crackers with hummus, strawberries, or any kind of fruit. Nice cream is a big hit in our house—so big that I’ve wondered if I could grow bananas in the snowy climate of New York. I make baked tots for them by mashing sweet potatoes up into little balls. I bake them in the oven until they’re crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Apple slices dipped in peanut butter, covered in fine coconut dust always leaves an empty plate.

Josie: Thank you for taking the time to chat, Janet, and for the time and effort you put into making online resources available for vegan parents.

For a limited time, you can sport this exclusive shirt that benefits Vegan Outreach’s work and spreads the message that veganism helps protect the planet.

Proceeds will help fuel our outreach—through leafleting college campuses, feeding delicious vegan food to veg-curious community members, providing nutrition information and recipes to help ease the transition, and more!

Options include two styles each of tees and tanks—plus, we have kids’ sizes!

Purchase yours by Wednesday, August 9 and be one of the only people to have this one-of-a-kind shirt!

Order now before time runs out! Thank you!

By Victor Flores, Greater New Mexico Community Engagement and Events Coordinator

Vegan Outreach recently hosted a vegan grocery store tour at Albertson’s Market in Alamogordo, NM. The purpose of the tour was to show veg-curious folks how easily the grocery store can be navigated when shopping for a plant-based lifestyle.

My wife Karla and I spent 2 ½ hours in the store with the attendees. We joyfully walked up and down each aisle, pointing out the plant-based alternatives—such as non-dairy milks and vegan meats and cheeses. We introduced the group to food products they hadn’t heard of before, like Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP), vital wheat gluten, and nutritional yeast. It was fun explaining how each one can tastefully be incorporated and/or substituted for animal food products.

As vegans who enjoy snacking, we wanted our new friends to know that there would be no need to give up good-tasting snack foods! We were not shy in pointing out products like Lenny and Larry’s Complete Cookies, Annie’s Bunny Fruit Snacks, and SkinnyPop Popcorn.

Most importantly, we took time to explain how many cuisines—such as Italian and Mexican food—can be easily veganized by leaving out the meat and dairy and bulking up on the veggies and beans! We also emphasized common food items that are “accidentally vegan” to make sure no one felt as if they’d need to completely alter their grocery list.

Many left the event with a very different outlook on what a vegan lifestyle looks like. We had people tell us that they felt empowered to make changes now that they know about the wide variety of vegan foods available to them in their local grocery store.

We want to thank Albertson’s Market in Alamogordo for letting us host the tour and for donating reusable shopping bags—which had a few vegan food samples and coupons inside!

If you are in New Mexico or the El Paso, TX area and would like a store tour for your community, please email me at [email protected].