Coming to a Restaurant Near You - By Jackie McGraw

During the summer of 2005, CAA started its Restaurant Outreach campaign to make dining out more accessible for those interested in a vegetarian and vegan lifestyle, and to introduce more options to omnivores while making veg cuisine more visible on menus.

Target restaurants, primarily independently-owned establishments that are likely to be receptive to the campaign, are chosen by CAA. Thus far, these have been located mostly in the Uptown neighborhood and around the University campus. One of the targeted Uptown restaurants, the popular Caffrey’s Subs and Deli, added several new vegan options that include subs with mock chicken, Vegenaise, and roasted red pepper hummus which are selling quite well.

University Dining Services (UDS) has also been a major focus of the campaign, which has thus far resulted in a few key positive changes. All vending machines on the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus now display a list of the vegan snack options available and certain vending machines now carry Amy’s Kitchen frozen items for those looking for something more substantial between classes.

The campaign is still in its early stages, and interested folks are encouraged to contact CAA for more information on how they can help make this exciting campaign a success.