photo: food donated by Hinda Goldman, Orlando volunteer – USA
100% Goes to Expand Plant-Based Food Access
The U.S. federal government is reopening, but the need for food remains urgent.
In response to increasing economic hardships and massive shockwaves from the government shutdown, especially the disruption of SNAP “food stamp” funding, we’ve launched this U.S. Hunger Relief Fundraiser to provide critical support of plant-based meal shares and community pantries provided by U.S. recipients of our Plants-4-Hunger and Disaster/Crisis Relief programs.
We’re prioritizing funding groups facing immediate need, while also spotlighting the broader network of incredible U.S. hunger relief organizations below. Links are provided to boost visibility and facilitate donations.
Please give if you can to help fill critical food access gaps and replenish resources during this critical time of need.
click here to donate now
10,000 Meals Across L.A.
10,000 Meals Across L.A. is a project of The Harvest Academy, a non-profit spearheaded by Chef Supreme, a U.S. Army veteran and seasoned chef with more than 22 years of culinary expertise. The initiative aims to serve 100,000 free, nutritious plant-based meals meals to unhoused community members in Los Angeles over the next decade. Under the guidance of Chef Supreme, who believes that food is a conduit to health and peace, they endeavor not only to feed bodies but also “to nourish minds and spirits, one meal at a time.” (Photo: Chef Supreme distributing vegan meals as part of his 10,000 Meals Across L.A. effort.)
Afro-Vegan Society
Afro-Vegan Society primarily addresses food insecurity by promoting and providing resources for affordable, plant-based eating, then going the extra mile with hardships intensify. Founded and directed by food justice activist Brenda Sanders (pictured here), Afro-Vegan Society is a BIPOC-led nonprofit working to provide resources and support to help people in marginalized communities transition to vegan living. They offer budget-friendly vegan recipes, guides, classes, and much more to improve broad access to nutritious food. Shortly after the pandemic broke out, they mobilized to make free plant-based food in the Baltimore area. Throughout the pandemic, they used their restaurant kitchen space to prepare nutritious veggie soups and hot meals on a large scale for free distribution to low-income and vulnerable community members.
Awali Resource Center & Grow Where You Are
Awali Resource Center and Grow Where You Are are a team of veganic farmers and food justice activists in Atlanta working in the areas of food security, ecological restoration, and animal-free growing techniques. Since 2009, they have been empowering individuals and families to improve their personal food security by planting backyard and community food gardens. These gardens can drastically increase families’ access to fresh fruits and vegetables, especially in urban food deserts. They also partner with land-owning churches to install and manage organic vegetable micro-farms in struggling urban neighborhoods on community land that would otherwise sit unused. Produce from these urban farms is used to feed community members and volunteers, to stock produce stalls in Atlanta’s food deserts.
Chilis on Wheels
Chilis on Wheels makes veganism accessible to communities in need through services such as meal shares, food demos, clothing drives, and mentorship. The nonprofit got its early start in November of 2014, when founder Michelle Carrera couldn’t find a soup kitchen that served vegan meals, so decided to prepare her own vegan chili and distribute it directly to the community. After experiencing firsthand the need for such a program, she became inspired and committed to bringing vegan food to those in need. Chilis on Wheels believes that an empowered community is key in dismantling systematic inequalities that prevent veganism from being attainable by poor and low-income communities. Through their networks of support, they’re collectively building alternate systems to make veganism more accessible.
Community Solidarity
Community Solidarity is a hunger relief nonprofit that believes “alleviating hunger and animal suffering are not mutually exclusive; they’re linked. The suffering of humans will not end if our society continues to justify the suffering of other living beings. The blind indifference that makes it easy for some people to overlook the hungry and poor among us is the same indifference that makes it easy for many to overlook the suffering of animals in farms. Further, it blinds people to the environmental destruction created by those farms. An economic system that devalues… animals’ lives [is] an economic system that also devalues the poor and hungry people in our own communities. An economic system that exploits living beings while destroying our collective ecosystems.” In addition to sharing protein-packed beans, nuts, seeds and plant-based meat substitutes like tofu, seitan, and tempeh, plus whole grain breads and hot vegan meals, 48-70% of the food distributed by Community Solidarity is organic produce (the variation in percentage is based on what’s in season and available from local farms).
Food Not Bombs
Food Not Bombs is an all-volunteer movement that recovers food that would otherwise be discarded, and shares free vegan meals with the hungry in more than 1,000 cities in 65 countries. They also provide food and supplies to the survivors of natural disasters, people living in or displaced by war and conflict, and people participating in occupations, strikes, marches and other protests. (Photo: Gabriela Venegas-Ramirez for Food Not Bombs in Providence, RI.)
Happy Vegan Cart
Happy Vegan Cart works to provide accessible, free-of-charge vegan meals and food items to the Ulster County, NY community, and to evolve a program of health, nutrition and food education in the form of in-person teachings and printed resources distributed via a centrally located food cart and table display outside of People’s Place, the largest food pantry in the county. Happy Vegan Cart is a collaborative program managed and run by three non-profits: the Institute for Animal Happiness, People’s Place, and NY Farm Animal Save.
Kind Pantry
Kind Pantry food bank provides plant-based foods to low-income individuals in Erie County, PA through partnerships with local agencies. They are committed to environmental stewardship, recognizing that growing plant-based foods is a more sustainable way to feed people. Their all volunteer-run food bank strives to offer nutritious foods that benefit people’s health without contributing to the unnecessary and cruel abuse of land and sea animals that fuels our modern food industry. If you’re in or near Erie, PA, Kind Pantry encourages businesses, churches, groups and individuals to help them by organizing plant-based food drives. They provide a helpful list of foods they can especially use here.
Support+Feed
Support+Feed is committed to mitigating climate change and increasing food security by driving global demand, acceptance, and accessibility of plant-based food. They have reached 41 cities globally, have a consistent presence in eleven anchor cities in the US, and are expanding through partnerships in the EU, UK, and Australia. They’ve worked with hundreds of volunteers, 190+ community organizations, and 100+ local restaurants to deliver more than 1.5 million nourishing and delicious plant-based meals and pantry items, alongside educational resources connecting the dots between what we put on our plates and the climate crisis. (Photo: Support+Feed food distribution 2024).
Vegans of LA Food Bank
Vegans of LA Food Bank is the first fully plant-based, vegan food bank in Los Angeles. Launched by Gwenna Hunter (photo, left), it marks a groundbreaking moment: the first brick-and-mortar vegan food bank in the U.S. founded by a woman of color. The organization’s mission is to provide nutritious, plant-based food to communities while promoting planetary unity and advocating for the right to healthy meals for all people. Serving more than 600 individuals on distribution days, the food bank’s vision is a world where all people are empowered to choose food that supports their physical, mental, and emotional well-being, while also honoring the Earth and all her inhabitants. By providing access to nourishing, plant-based meals, they are helping to cultivate a future rooted in wellness, equity, and compassion. (Photo: Nikki Richter for Unbound Project/We Animals Media).
Vegantry
Vegantry is a women-led, minority-led, and veteran-led program of Feeding GA Families, a 501(c)3 non-profit that hosts a free weekly plant-based grocery store and food pantry for Georgia individuals and families with the assistance of local grocers, small businesses, and volunteers. They prioritize fresh produce and pantry items as well as distribution of free, nourishing meals. Their secondary objective is to offer health & wellness classes and workshops, health checks, wellness informational sheets and books, and a community food garden.