Story submitted by Margaret M. Neill, Library Administrator/Thomas Branigan Memorial Library:
Branigan Library’s Teen Vegan/Vegetarian Club was created for curious young adults to explore what an animal-free diet/lifestyle could actually look like. Many teens have had the thought, “I love animals, how can I eat them?”– but aren’t sure how to find accessible, cheap, animal-free food options in their local community.
In our first meeting, we had 10 teens come together on Zoom to share a little bit about their own eating habits, why they were interested in vegan/vegetarian food options, and explored the reasons why people go vegan/vegetarian. Many of the teens are already pescatarians, vegans, and vegetarians, so those teens shared with everyone else what they typically eat, how they make those foods, and where they get their food from.
For next month’s meeting, the teens will be finding vegan/vegetarian recipes that would be easy for other teens to make in our local community. The library has partnered with a local farm-to-market store, FARMesilla, that will be providing the teens with a free vegan meal at the end of the month.
The Library’s teen librarian, Carson Williams, is heading up the program.
Here’s a link to the Facebook video for it: https://fb.watch/5-rWEtfOcG/