New York City Gets Its First Vegan Dining Month

As Veganuary kicks off for another year, New York City is launching its first vegan dining month.

Veganuary, the UK-based campaign encouraging people to go vegan for the month of January, now in its ninth year, will see more options stateside.

New York City, which is governed by predominantly vegan mayor Eric Adams, is celebrating its first vegan eating month in January. The program was created by vegan food and travel website Vegans Baby and is supported by the Veganuary campaign.

New York Vegan Dining Month

New York City is home to a number of vegan restaurants, including the three Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park. The Vegan Eating Month campaign says there are currently more than 20 restaurants signed up to take part in the month-long program, including popular Lower East Side spot Caravan of Dreams, as well as Organic Grill, Lekka Burger, Soda Club, Rabbit , and Raiz, among others. French bakery Ladureé, which offers a completely plant-based menu developed by chef Matthew Kenney at its Beverly Hills location in Los Angeles, will add a vegan bacon omelette to its Soho menu this month.

“I signed up [to participate in NYC Vegan Dining Month] because it was a no-brainer,” says Raiz owner Nick Johnson. “This is what people want. The plant-based wave isn’t just a trend, it’s the future and we’re proud to be a part of it.”

Restaurants will offer special menu items throughout the month-long event.

“I’m very excited to launch Vegan Dining Month in NYC after running it for six years in Las Vegas,” Diana Edelman, Vegans, Baby’s founder, said in a statement. “The city has such a dynamic vegan dining scene and I’m excited to create an event here that encourages people to dine out during the month and give restaurants – both vegan and vegan-friendly – a go for a good cause .”

NYC embraces vegan food

Vegan Eating Month follows a recent announcement by the city that it aims to bring plant-based nutrition training to its health care workers. The city earmarked $44 million as part of an American College of Lifestyle Medicine initiative — the largest in the world — that will train 200,000 city health care practitioners, including physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners and dietitians about the benefits based on plant facts. based diets.

Proceeds from New York’s Vegan Dining Month will support the popular vegan charity, Support + Feed. The non-profit organization was founded by Maggie Baird, mother of Billie Eilish and Finneas. The charity provides free plant-based meals to underserved communities.

The city is encouraging New Yorkers to try some of the vegan meals around town during Vegan Dining Month, even if they’re not committing to the entire Vegan Month.

“Hundreds of thousands of people take the Vegan challenge every year and this event helps them see that they can dine out around town and find amazing vegan food and hopefully encourage them to stick with being vegan beyond the month,” says Edelman. . “It also introduces new places for vegans to dine out and showcases the diversity around the city.”