The Hare Krishnas weren’t the only ones dishing out plates of vegan food Thursday afternoon on the Plaza of the Americas.
The annual VegFest kicked off around lunchtime as members of Animal Activists of Alachua served vegan food from local Gainesville restaurants and national vegan food companies.
VegFest, meant to educate hungry passersby about veganism and promote animal activism, provided students with a small taste of vegan foods ranging from tofurkey sandwiches made with Vegenaise, a vegan mayonnaise, to vegan ice cream from Luna and Larry’s Coconut Bliss.
Anandani Maharaj, president of Animal Activists for Alachua and a senior criminology major, said being a vegan or a vegetarian is much easier in Gainesville than most cities and that is what VegFest was meant to convey.
Gainesville restaurants, many of which donated to VegFest, made it known that they offer vegan and vegetarian options in order to attract those customers, she said.
“VegFest is a great way for us to promote our cause while promoting their food,” Maharaj said.
Satchel’s Pizza has 21 vegan and vegetarian pizzas on their menu.
“We even have a vegan oatmeal raisin cookie that is baked on the premises if the pizza options don’t entice you enough,” Bushnell said.
Maharaj was most excited about the vegan pizza from Satchel’s, made with Daiya, a tapioca-based non-dairy cheese, green peppers, tomato and basil.
“It’s hard to find a good vegan pizza, but Satchel’s has got it down,” Maharaj said.
Richard Stehli, a veggie fest volunteer, uses an apple cutter and corer for granny smith apples during the VegFest at Plaza of the Americas in 2011.
