National Vegetarian Week

15th May 2019

National Vegetarian Week runs from 13th to 19th May and is a great time to celebrate plant-based living. During May, The Vegetarian Society is encouraging people to try out ’50 veggie things’.

With this in mind, they have a variety of 50 family-friendly ideas sure to titillate your taste buds. You can discover more in our tasty blog this week.

The Vegetarian Society

The Vegetarian Society is a charity that is passionate about veggie food. They want everyone to know how varied and delicious vegetarian dishes are and how easy it is to enjoy a veggie lifestyle.

The Society dates back to 1908, when the International Vegetarian Union (IVU) was founded. Vegetarian cuisine began to flourish, however, in the 1950s. Walter Fleiss, owner of Vega restaurant in London’s Leicester Square, convinced the Salon Culinaire Food Competition organisers to incorporate a vegetarian food category; which they did. The Vegetarian Society sponsored the event; ensuring that vegetarianism was well and truly in the public eye.

In 1992 we saw the first National Vegetarian Day, which shortly evolved into National Vegetarian Week and has been celebrated ever since. The event has always been hugely popular, attracting hundreds of thousands of people to vegetarianism.

Getting involved in National Vegetarian Week and supporting The Vegetarian Society is easy. As Graham Drummond, from The Vegetarian Society, explains:

“This year National Vegetarian Week offers some fun new things for you to try, such as tucking into a veggie full-English breakfast, sharing gelatine-free sweets, doing a dairy-free milk taste-test or choosing the tofu dish from the local Chinese takeaway. You can visit the dedicated website to get the full ‘50 veggie things’ list and pick your bite-sized activity to cheer up your day. Don’t forget to share it on social media too, using #NationalVegetarianWeek.”

50 Veggie Things

Here are a few of the ’50 veggie things’ you can try during National Vegetarian Week:

Order a veggie dish – Whether it’s a vegetarian dinner at Wildwood or a vegan cake at Costa Coffee, there are plenty of plant-based options to enjoy at Garden Square’s stores.

Grab something veggie to go – In a rush? The high street is a great place to get something veggie on the go. From vegan sausage rolls to veggie BLTs, there’s something for everyone.

Ask your canteen to go veggie for the day – A whole canteen of people eating veggie for a day could have a huge positive impact on the planet. This is great for schools, groups or workplaces!

Donate veggie food to a food bank – Next time you’re shopping buy an extra can of beans, a tin of tomatoes or a bag of rice to donate to your local food bank. It’s a simple way to help others.

Share a photo of your veggie shopping – Whether you fill a trolley or basket, or just carry as much as you can – make your shopping totally veggie. Stock up and use #NationalVegetarianWeek to show off your shop.

Share some veggie sweets – Put a smile on someone’s face and share a bag of veggie sweets today. Whether they’re chewy, fruity or fizzy – there’s so much to choose from when sharing a little sweetness.

Find out more about Garden Square’s stores.

For the full list of ‘50 veggie things’.