CAA Community Organizer Tamuno Imbu has just built a new partnership to serve youth of color with The Link. The Link was founded in 1991 by two local Black leaders and former Minnesota Vikings players, Jim Marshall and Oscar Reed. The organization was established to help youth on the Northside of Minneapolis who were struggling with poverty, homelessness, getting victimized by crime or recruited into criminal activity. Grounded in community, The Link’s driving philosophy was to do “whatever it took” to help young people on the Northside.
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Volunteer on the 2021 Twin Cities Vegan Chef Challenge Committee
We need YOU to volunteer make 2021 the biggest and best Twin Cities Chef Challenge yet! Volunteers will help add vegan options to Twin Cities restaurants and build excitement around vegan dining. Past volunteers have found the experience to be highly rewarding.
What is the challenge?
The Twin Cities Chef Challenge brings new vegan options to Twin Cities restaurants, which diners then rate. It’s a win-win-win as diners get new options, restaurants increase their business, and animals are spared through the addition and promotion of vegan options at restaurants.
The 2021 Challenge will take place in August. We hope to have all committee members recruited by mid-May and to start meeting by the end of May.
How can I get involved?
We will form a committee that meets every one to two weeks. Volunteers will spend 2 to 5 hours a week on the project. We’ll share the following responsibilities:
Restaurant outreach –Go to restaurants between 2 and 4 pm to invite chefs and managers to participate and/or reach out via email, phone and social media. We provide you with materials to bring. You’ll also drop off promotional materials at the restaurants prior to the challenge, and invite chefs to the final celebration.
Restaurant follow-up —Make sure restaurants have submitted necessary materials (name of dishes, food photos, etc.) to prepare for our website and promotion. This position begins in June.
Ratings —Create the Google form diners fill out to rate the dishes they eat and calculates the results of the votes using a spreadsheet to determine the Twin Cities Vegan Chef Challenge Champion. Help determine awards, which are given to all restaurants who participate. Begins in June.
Please fill out our new volunteer form or email Laura Matanah at laura@exploreveg.org and let us know what interests you!
The 2021 Twin Cities Vegan Comfort Food Challenge Champion
Minneapolis-based Reverie Cafe and Bar’s “Long Haul Burger” impressed voters and earned top honors in this year’s challenge.
The chefs and founders of Reverie, Kirsten Wiegmann and Jeffery Therkelsen, are the official Twin Cities Vegan Chef Challenge Champions. Kirsten and Jeff were awarded a $150 cash prize and certificate, presented at a special online ceremony on March 20.
Meet Our New Communications Coordinator!
I’m delighted to share that our hiring committee has selected a new Communications Coordinator: Sandy Hitchin!
Make a #snaptheveg video and win $25!
Help us spread the veg love by making a #snaptheveg video and posting it on social! We’ll choose one person each week to win a $25 gift certificate to the Camden Farmer’s Market. Check out our sample video and directions below.
Join the Twin Cities Vegan Chef Challenge Committee
We need YOU to make 2020 the biggest and best Twin Cities Chef Challenge yet!
What is the challenge?
The Twin Cities Chef Challenge brings new vegan options to Twin Cities restaurants, which diners then rate. It’s a win-win-win as diners get new options, restaurants increase their business, and animals are spared through the addition and promotion of vegan options at restaurants.
The challenge had been planned for October. We are considering moving the date up to August.
How can I get involved?
Restaurant outreach volunteers—3 to 8 needed. These volunteers go to restaurants between 2 and 4 pm to invite chefs and managers to participate. We provide you with materials to bring. You’ll also drop off promotional materials at the restaurants prior to the challenge, and invite chefs to the final celebration. This position begins in June.
Specifics:
- Volunteers need to provide their own transportation.
- Commitment: An estimated 5-8 hours a week for two weeks to a month.
Restaurant follow-up volunteers—These volunteers make sure restaurants have submitted necessary materials (name of dishes, food photos, etc.) to prepare for our website and promotion. This position begins in June.
Specifics:
- Position can be done from home.
- Have basic spreadsheet skills and be comfortable with using email and making follow-up phone calls.
- Commitment: An estimated 1-2 hours a week.
Dining and social media volunteers—These volunteers go to restaurants, purchase the Twin Cities Vegan Chef Challenge dishes, and post about them on social media. They also follow and comment on posts submitted by the community.
Specifics:
- Volunteers need to provide their own transportation.
- Commitment: An estimated 5-8 hours a week throughout the month of the challenge.
Ratings volunteer—This volunteer creates the Google form diners fill out to rate the dishes they eat and calculates the results of the votes using a spreadsheet to determine the Twin Cities Vegan Chef Challenge Champion. They also help determine awards, which are given to all restaurants who participate. Begins in June.
- Commitment: An estimated 3-6 hours to create the survey, make edits, and compile data afterward. The 3 to 6 hours of work will be spread out over several months.
Social media admins—These volunteers put posts on social media pages for the challenge, and help plan social media strategy. Begins in June.
- Commitment: An estimated 3-4 hours a week, starting two months before the challenge and running two weeks after the challenge wraps up.
Please fill out our new volunteer form or email Laura Matanah at laura@exploreveg.org and let us know what interests you!
A New Community Organizer!
I’m delighted to share that, thanks to support from Animal Charity Evaluators’ Effective Animal Advocacy Fund, we are adding a community organizer to our staff: Tamuno Imbu!
Our Treatment of Animals Caused COVID-19. How can we get to a healthier world?
It is well documented that the outbreak of COVID-19 came from our treatment of animals.
The disease transferred from animals to humans at a meat market.
Our current worldwide focus is, sensibly, on slowing down the virus’s rapid spread. We would also be wise to lay the groundwork for the return to a healthier world.
We’re hiring a Community Organizer!
Do you have connections to and experience working with communities of color in the Twin Cities? Do you live a plant-based lifestyle? Then this position may be for you!
Read on for the full details and how to apply.
What’s ThanksLiving?
The traditional Thanksgiving holiday has many potentially positive elements: thankfulness, food, family, and tradition. It also encourages denial about the real experiences of turkeys and Native people.
We’ve decided to change the name of Compassionate Action for Animals’ traditional celebration from “A Vegan Thanksgiving Potluck” to “A Vegan ThanksLiving Potluck” as a way to refocus our celebration on the lived experiences, and resistance to oppression, of both human and non-human animals. Our goal is to retain many of the positive elements of the traditional holiday while expanding its meaningfulness with greater knowledge and action.