Guide to Being Vegan in a Small Town
Being vegan in a small town or rural area may seem a little tricky at first. Vegan-friendly restaurants may be scarce in your area, but the good news is that our very own staffers who have firsthand experience with being vegan in a small town have lived to tell the tale and—spoiler alert—it all turned out to be pretty easy after all.
Follow these simple tips for being vegan in a small town, and you’ll be off to a great start:
1. Start a vegan club at school—and have potlucks!
This is a great option for high school students and for college students who don’t have access to home-cooked meals very often. Invite friends who are either vegan or veg-friendly to join, and then spread the word by using flyers, announcements in class, and social media to gain even more members. You can gather to eat vegan food, share your experiences, discuss animal rights issues, and find other common interests in order to build a sense of community.
2. Use Google to find local vegan joints.
Either Google “vegan restaurants near me” or use HappyCow, an app that tells you where to find vegan food in your town. Invite your friends along so you can introduce them to the world of delicious vegan foods and watch the experience blow their minds. If there are no all-vegan restaurants within driving distance, use our guide to eating vegan at fast-food chains. You’ll be amazed that many popular restaurants can easily be turned into vegan paradises. Who knew?
3. When eating out, call restaurants ahead of time.
A little heads-up never hurts, and with enough notice, chefs can be really accommodating about offering vegan foods. Some restaurants even have secret vegan menus! Ask what the options are to see if the restaurant will work with you. You can do the same for college dining halls.
4. Don’t sleep on vegan options in chain grocery stores.
Vegan meats and exclusively vegan brands are available at tons of grocery chains these days, but if your local one doesn’t carry them, don’t worry. You can ask it to stock its shelves with a product that you want. In the meantime, use Google to search for vegan versions of your favorite recipes—many use ingredients that are available at stores like Kroger, Ralphs, Target, Walmart, and even dollar stores. You can make delicious, affordable meals out of foods like beans; bread and tortillas; fruits and vegetables, including cauliflower and avocados; nuts, such as cashews; pasta; rice and other grains; salsa; sauces; tofu; and vegan chips, which are all easy to find. For example, you can make sauce for macaroni and “cheese” out of carrots, onions, and potatoes, and it’s good.
5. Shop vegan stores online.
Vegan Essentials is a good one to try. Walmart and Amazon.com will even deliver vegan groceries. If there’s no health food store in your area, online vegan stores can be a lifesaver.
6. Treat yourself to a monthly subscription box.
Who doesn’t love getting presents in the mail? Vegancuts offers a fun monthly vegan subscription box for a fair price, so you can try new vegan foods and products no matter where you live.
7. Spread the vegan joy.
Host a dinner-and-movie night by inviting your friends over for yummy food and an animal rights documentary on Netflix. This is a fun and easy way to open people’s minds to compassionate living.
8. Join (or start) a Students Opposing Speciesism (SOS) hub to meet other young activists in your area.
9. Don’t suffer from FOMO.
Don’t think of being vegan in a small town as a disadvantage. Instead, think of it as an opportunity to start a movement! If your town is vegan-unfriendly, you can help turn it into an up-and-coming vegan paradise. You may see more vegan-friendly restaurants, all-vegan grocery stores, and monthly vegan pop-up markets come to town. Perhaps your local high school will even hold an annual vegan prom to raise awareness of animal rights issues—we’ve seen it happen!
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There’s no reason to let your location dictate your ethics. Being vegan in a small town may not be as convenient as it is in a bigger city, but as long as you have a grocery store and internet access, you have everything you need to eat delicious, affordable vegan meals that are ethical, sustainable, and healthy.
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