Raising awareness for animal rights and encouraging other students to try out a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, eleventh-graders Grace Callahan and Sadie Vitkus founded Veg Club.
Veg Club was created in September 2017 to provide a comfortable environment where students could share their experiences with being either vegetarian or vegan, personal recipes, and how to obtain proper nutrients without consuming any animal products. “We wanted to create the club to educate others and get the point across that vegan food can be good and has more options than you may think,” Vitkus said.
The club recently held their first event Nov. 18 where members brought in vegan Thanksgiving dishes, such as mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce, to share with students and to raise funds for their club through donations.
From 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the Multi-Purpose Room, high school students learned about vegan alternatives and introduced new members to the club. “Veg Club’s vegan Thanksgiving was one of the most fun events I have been to all year because vegan food has a stereotype of not tasting good, but I was able to see that it can be really great,” twelfth-grader Nicholas Blake said.
Veg Club’s Thanksgiving event was the first of many to come as members will be planning more student-welcome vegan occasions. Even though one of Veg club’s main goals is to inspire others to eat less meat and dairy and to go cruelty-free, it is not exclusive to vegans; anyone who would like to simply be educated on the topic or help to prevent abusive conditions for animals is welcome. “Veg Club is really great because I get to share my perspective on animal rights and help to increase awareness,” ninth-grader Joseph Priovolos said.
In the future, co-presidents Callahan and Vitkus plan to share their club’s purpose through vegan-inspired nutritional events. The club meets every other Monday from 1:15 to 2:00 p.m. in Room 269.