The Social Vegan: Meet-Ups, FB groups, & Potlucks

I’ve heard many people express the concern that going vegetarian or vegan might somehow put a damper on with their social lives. Actually, it’s remarkably easy to choose cruelty-free and still have a pretty booked social calendar. First of all, choosing a vegetarian or vegan diet doesn’t mean you can no longer get together with non-veg friends!  Second, there are plenty of opportunities for vegetarians and vegans to meet each other. Whether it’s an informal Facebook group or a monthly meet-up in your city, in this tech-happy universe it’s quite easy to connect.

Vegan Meet-Ups & Facebook Groups
My husband Seth, computer wizard and social media guru that he is, took it upon himself to create a “Vegan Tucson” Facebook group page: not only are we sharing recipe ideas, but we also organized a meet-up last month at thevegan restaurant Lovin’ Spoonfuls. Seth also created a new web site called VegDinner, which allows people in any city to organize a get-together.

Potluck Parties
One of my favorite ways to get together with friends is by hosting Veg Potluck Parties  at our home. I usually send out an Evite, which makes it easy to know about how many people to expect, and to send out a reminder when it gets closer to the date. Potlucks are a great, informal way of spending some time with the people we enjoy most. Sometimes our pot lucks consist of just a few friends, and other times we’ve hosted a full house. The beauty of the potluck is that, no matter how many are invited, there’s little preparation and minimal clean-up… and lots of de-lish food! Finally, I love the potluck because it’s something all our friends are able to enjoy. Even our non-vegetarian friends, who are not likely to attend a vegan meet-up anytime soon, love trying out all the fantastic food people bring to the party.

You can search on Facebook or Google for your own city to see what’s happening in the local vegan community. Or maybe you’ll be inspired to host a potluck for people you already know. As the old Girl Scout song goes: “Make new friends, but keep the old — one is silver and the other’s gold.”

If happy hours are more your social speed, check back with me tomorrow…

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