VEG PEI'S MISSION
Veg PEI is a non-profit organization whose aim is to help Islanders explore the possibilities of plant-based living. We value health, compassion, community, agriculture and sustainability. The number of vegetarians/vegans living on and travelling to PEI is vastly growing, therefore creating easily accessible resources for these individuals is a necessity.
We plan community events in which all Islanders can be a part of. Our main events are our bi-monthly vegan potlucks, and Veg It Up!, a two-week island-wide food celebration. We are steadily updating our directory of restaurants in PEI who offer vegetarian/vegan options, through which consumers will have better knowledge of where they are able to eat. We know that Islanders deserve access to food options that are right for them and we plan to be a driving force behind the plant-based movement on the island.
We plan community events in which all Islanders can be a part of. Our main events are our bi-monthly vegan potlucks, and Veg It Up!, a two-week island-wide food celebration. We are steadily updating our directory of restaurants in PEI who offer vegetarian/vegan options, through which consumers will have better knowledge of where they are able to eat. We know that Islanders deserve access to food options that are right for them and we plan to be a driving force behind the plant-based movement on the island.
HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?
There are many ways to help Veg PEI on it's mission. If you would like to contribute, any of the following things make a big difference!
Sign up to be a volunteer:
We are constantly looking for hard working individuals to volunteer with us.
For more information on the types of jobs we are looking to have volunteers fill please visit our volunteer page.
Are you a business owner? Participate in our events or membership!
Getting a wide variety of businesses to participate in our large events like 'Veg it Up!' or 'Veg on the Block' helps enormously.
Your business could also offer a discount to Veg PEI Members, which in turn gives your business free promotion from us!
If you are a business that is not plant-based please consider offering plant-based options!
Purchase a Veg PEI Membership.
Joining us as a Member has a whole lot of benefits, and it costs just $1/month! Check out our Membership page to see what joining us can do for you!
Donate!
A lot of our events and initiatives are expensive for us to run. Your direct donations help us spend less time fundraising and more time making change.
Share us with the world, and your ideas with us.
The more people who know about us and what we do, the bigger the change we can make. Share our posts, pages, events and anything else you can think of with your family and friends. If you know businesses that you would like to see participate in our events, tell them!
If you have any ideas of new things we could do, things we could do better, or just good old fashioned encouragement for us to keep up the good work, leave us a message in our suggestion box.
Sign up to be a volunteer:
We are constantly looking for hard working individuals to volunteer with us.
For more information on the types of jobs we are looking to have volunteers fill please visit our volunteer page.
Are you a business owner? Participate in our events or membership!
Getting a wide variety of businesses to participate in our large events like 'Veg it Up!' or 'Veg on the Block' helps enormously.
Your business could also offer a discount to Veg PEI Members, which in turn gives your business free promotion from us!
If you are a business that is not plant-based please consider offering plant-based options!
Purchase a Veg PEI Membership.
Joining us as a Member has a whole lot of benefits, and it costs just $1/month! Check out our Membership page to see what joining us can do for you!
Donate!
A lot of our events and initiatives are expensive for us to run. Your direct donations help us spend less time fundraising and more time making change.
Share us with the world, and your ideas with us.
The more people who know about us and what we do, the bigger the change we can make. Share our posts, pages, events and anything else you can think of with your family and friends. If you know businesses that you would like to see participate in our events, tell them!
If you have any ideas of new things we could do, things we could do better, or just good old fashioned encouragement for us to keep up the good work, leave us a message in our suggestion box.
MEET OUR TEAM!
Hilary Wood PRESIDENT Hilary has been involved in animal advocacy since the age of 10. She made the transition from vegetarian to vegan over 6 years ago and hasn't looked back. Her passions have lead her to volunteering with animal rehabilitation groups in Florida and Thailand, and she has also spent time as a galley cook with Sea Shepherd. She has her diploma in Holistic Nutrition. Currently, Hilary lives in Charlottetown with her boyfriend Anthony and their chicken daughter, Maple. She works part-time managing Rawsome Juice Bar and is also the Business Development Associate and Social Media Manager at Fresh Start Fauxmage. She takes pride in being president of an organization that is a driving force behind making PEI a more accessible place for those wishing to live a plant-based lifestyle, and looks forward to the continued growth of veganism on the island. Contact Hilary: @babyhurl_ vegpeiassn@gmail.com 
Kris Havey Treasurer Kris has been vegan since 2014, and vegetarian since 2012. He grew up in Ontario, and has worked in retail, health-care, and freelance-writing. Kris studied at York University, where he graduated with a Honours B.A. in Communications Studies. Kris enjoys, coffee, camping, hiking, rock climbing, beer, and gardening. Kris lives in downtown Summerside with his partner Niki, his dog Sophie, and three rats: Sour, Tetley, and Whiskey. Contact Kris: @Broccoli_and_Friends kristopherdavidharvey@gmail.com |
Tiffany MacDonald Vice-PRESIDENT Tiffany has been vegetarian for over a decade and adopted a plant based lifestyle in recent years. She is currently pursuing a career as a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and believes strongly in living a plant based, cruelty free and chemical free lifestyle. Tiffany is passionate about animal rights and lives with her three dogs, her cat Homer, her husband, Tyler and her daughter, Evelyn. Tiffany is honored to contribute to Veg PEI and believes it will be an integral part of educating Prince Edward Island about the benefits of plant based living. Contact Tiffany: @thehealthyspud 
Niki Abogado SECRETARY Niki has been vegetarian since 2012, and vegan since 2014. She is a vegan baker, running The Vegan Cauldron in Summerside. She studied Fine Arts and Heritage Retrofit Carpentry in post-secondary. In addition to her baking and Veg PEI duties, she works for Fresh Start Fauxmage manufacturing vegan cheese, and at the Harbourfront Theater as a Marketing Coordinator. On top of Niki's role as Secretary of PEI's board, she also manages memberships, this website and some of the organisation's graphic design. She lives in a hertiage home downtown Summerside with her boyfriend Kris, their Bernese Mountain dog Sophie, and their 3 rats. Contact Niki: @ShrewdMagpie nikiabogado@gmail.com |
HOW VEG PEI STARTEDMany years ago there was a lot of discussion on the Vegetarians and Vegans of P.E.I. facebook group about people feeling left out of all the local food festivals that always left vegan options out of their lineups. The idea was thrown around that there should be a festival with exclusively vegan dishes. A small group of passionate individuals met to discuss the idea, which lead us to a create long list of things we all wanted to see happen here in P.E.I to make it a more veg-friendly place.
It quickly became clear that our ambitions went far beyond a single food festival (not that we forgot about that goal!) and a number of us committed to founding Prince Edward Island's first Vegetarian and Vegan Non-Profit Association: Veg PEI. Our first big undertaking was planning and executing the food festival that first brought us together, which we dubbed 'Veg it Up!'. This festival is now in its 4th year running, and we are proud to say it's here to stay. The key organizers at Veg PEI have changed over the years as our inaugural members have moved (and some moved back!), changed careers, followed dreams and more, but we are proud to say that 3 of our founding members remain on our Board to this day. Hilary Wood, Niki Abogado, and Kris Harvey were all there during that first spontaneous meeting many years ago, and have all been able to watch as Veg PEI's efforts have helped P.E.I. blossom into a place where living a plant-based lifestyle is accessible and inclusive. |
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