Recap: Best Friends Animal Society Conference 2024

Best Friends Animal Society hosted their annual conference in Orlando, Florida from July 11-13, 2024. Hundreds of attendees from the shelter, rescue and animal care community gathered to discuss, celebrate and learn about how we can all work towards a more humane future for animals.

Congratulations to Kelli, our raffle basket winner!

Eden, our West Coast and Central Coordinator, was inspired by the incredible conversations at our booth - there is a clear demand for plant-based event menu’s, and the food at this conference did not disappoint! Vegetable and quinoa salad, chocolate cake and rigatoni with plant-based meatballs were just a few of the highlight dishes.

Many attendees were engaged and excited by Food For Thought’s initiatives and mission - a few organizations even applied for a grant or policy on the spot! There was incredible reception to our mission, and it was a wonderful opportunity to reach a wide audience of engagement.

We would like to thank Best Friends Animal Society for inviting us to exhibit, as well as our many generous raffle basket donors including Dr. Bronner, Go Max Go foods, Dr. Melanie Joy, Vegan Club, Mad Hippie, Dandie’s Marshmallows and more!

RECAP: HSUS ANIMAL CARE EXPO 2024

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) hosted its annual Animal Care Expo in the vibrant city of San Antonio, TX, from May 15-17, 2024. This in-person event brought together over 2,500 dedicated attendees from various sectors, including animal shelters, spay and neuter clinics, and veterinary education programs. The conference was a hub of knowledge, compassion, and inspiring discussions about animal welfare.

Beth represented Food for Thought at the conference and had an amazing time chatting with lots of enthusiastic attendees. People were really interested in learning more about our mission. The response was fantastic, with many visitors to our booth agreeing on the importance of extending compassion to farmed animals. It's clear that there's a growing awareness and commitment to comprehensive animal welfare at shelters and rescues.

We had some great conversations with attendees, many of whom took brochures or signed up for more information. Quite a few people were excited about presenting our program and grant opportunities to their Boards, which could lead to some awesome collaborations in the future.

One of the highlights of the conference was the vegan catering, which received rave reviews from attendees. The variety and excitement of the vegan food options demonstrated how delicious and diverse vegan events can be, reinforcing our message that compassion can be both ethical and enjoyable. Our favorite has to be the vegetable and mushroom trees—how cool are they!

The 2024 Animal Care Expo in San Antonio was a significant milestone for Food for Thought. We are excited about future collaborations and the continued journey towards a more compassionate world for all animals. See you in 2025!

Vegan Event Grant Recipient: Atlanta Animal Rescue Friends (AARF)

Congratulations to Atlanta Animal Rescue Friends (AARF) for hosting their first fully vegan event and adopting a vegan menu policy for public fundraisers and events and a vegetarian menu policy for staff and volunteer events!

AARF is a nonprofit, no-kill rescue serving cats and dogs in the Atlanta area. They work to save as many animals as they can through their cat adoption rooms at AARF Pet Central and foster homes.

We are so thrilled that AARF served vegan food at their AARFstravaganza event! The event was a “picnic style” concert to benefit their foster/adoption program, pet food pantry, and community outreach. Local musicians, such as Michelle Malone, performed, and there were raffles baskets and silent auction prizes.

Their vegan food menu included:

• Veggie Straws

• Lotus Biscoff Cookies

• Lenny and Larry’s Complete Cookies

• Rip Van Dark Chocolate Wafer Cookies

• That’s It Fruit Bars

• MadeGood Granola Bars

• Kibo Chickpea Chips

• Bada Bean Bada Boom Bean Snacks

The event was a success, and AARF met their fundraising goal! Guest commented on how much they loved the food, and several people said they were very grateful for the vegan options.

We are thankful for all that AARF does to help animals, and we are so happy they’ve made the compassionate decision to adopt a veg menu policy. Thank you, AARF!

Food for Thought Annual Retreat 2023

Last week, the Food for Thought team had our annual retreat! Three of our four team members traveled to Animal Place, a farmed animal sanctuary in Grass Valley, CA.

Since our team is remote, we were so excited to get to spend time with some of Animal Place’s nearly 300 rescued animals like cows, pigs, chickens, and goats. We got plenty of snuggles and provided many pets. We also got to spend time with some of our colleagues at Animal Place in person!

On Saturday, we tabled at Animal Care Faire in Sacramento, CA and had some great conversations about the importance of having a vegan menu policy for shelter events and fundraisers.

Additionally, the team spent some time coming up with an action plan for the Food for Thought program in 2024.

We had a wonderful time and can’t wait for the next retreat!

Vegan Event Grant Recipient: Cat Haven

We are excited to announce our latest Vegan Event Grant Recipient, Cat Haven! It’s their mission to lead their community in Baton Rouge, LA in becoming a no-kill community for cats and kittens. They provide care, shelter, and adoption services, and advocate for routine spaying and neutering for population control.

We are so grateful that Cat Haven served vegan food at their donor appreciation event! The event allowed board members and staff to connect with donors in a more intimate setting, and donors were able to learn about Cat Haven’s needs and future goals.

Their vegan food menu included:

• Tabouleh

• Sweet Potato Stir-Fry

• Mediterranean Stir-Fry Nachos

• Curried Potatoes

• Poke Bowls

• Cupcakes

Guests had a wonderful time, and several people commented on how great the food was and how much they appreciated the presentation. The organization said the event was a success. We’re happy to hear that!

A huge thank you to Cat Haven for making the compassionate choice to serve vegan food at their event!

Recap: Vegan Convergence of the Peoples #14

On Sunday, August 6th, Animal Place’s Food for Thought Program Manager, Melissa White, spoke on a funders’ panel at Vegan Convergence of the Peoples #14. The panelists included Dawn Moncrief of A Well-Fed World and Leslie Barcus of VegFund.

Melissa spoke about Animal Place’s history, including the sweet story of Zelda the pig, as well as Food for Thought’s mission, progress, and outreach methods, and our available grants. She detailed the policy grant, a one-time gift of either $1,000 or $250 to organizations that have recently adopted a vegan or vegetarian menu policy for their events. She also discussed the vegan event grant, a reimbursement of up to $1,000 in food costs for an organization’s first fully vegan event.

There were 37 people in attendance. The attendees were very engaged and supportive of Food for Thought’s mission of encouraging and inspiring nonprofit organizations like animal shelters to extend their compassion to all animals by adopting a vegan or vegetarian menu policy. One attendee commented, “Our shelters are great, but we need to think about ALL animals!”

At the end of the panel, Melissa encouraged attendees to check out our shelter report card to see if their local animal shelter has a menu policy in place. If they found that they didn’t, she suggested that they send a polite email to ask that they adopt a vegan or vegetarian menu policy. Because the audience was mainly vegan activists, they loved this idea.

Could your organization benefit from one of our grants? Click here to find out if you’re eligible.

Recap: HSUS Animal Care Expo 2023

Where do animal people go to connect with each other, eat incredible vegan food, play with puppies, and learn more about animal care and advocacy resources? This year it was New Orleans for the annual HSUS Animal Care Expo.

In a crowd of nearly 3,000 animal shelter staff and advocates from across the country, the Food for Thought team was proud to represent farmed animals! The event was buzzing with joy… and not just because we were in the “Big Easy” with puppies. Being around so many people passionate about animals was invigorating.

Pictured Above: Tami Andrew (East Coast, left) & Hailey Myers (West Coast, right)

I met East Coast Coordinator Tami in person for the first time since joining the team as West Coast Coordinator last year. We had a ball chatting about farmed animal welfare and the Food for Thought mission in person with shelter staff and animal advocates.

Our conversations with HSUS attendees were overwhelmingly positive. People agreed enthusiastically that if we are working to save cat and dog lives we should also work to save cows, pigs, chickens, and other animals. It was so encouraging to speak with so many people who saw the connection between loving animal companions and loving farmed animals. I was surprised how many people came to speak with us because they already supported Animal Place or remembered having conversations with other Food for Thought representatives. 

Some people who remembered us from past events and outreach came to give us updates. One attendee told us about her organization’s progress in removing animal products from their menus. Another attendee told us she is pulling her donations from an organization that hasn’t made the change yet. We met someone who has done fundraisers for Animal Place before. She dreams of buying a property to help us foster animals. She runs Rocket Dog Rescue and wants to visit our sanctuary with her volunteers. Rocket Dog Rescue has been a Food for Thought Policy Leader since 2016! We met another attendee who has adopted chickens from Animal Place (pictured below). A handful of people came by to pass on a “hi” to Kim because they remember her starting the program.

The catering at the conference was exceptional. I’m sure it inspired many event-planning professionals! Taco bars, Mediterranean mezze platters, and Italian spreads are always delightful and easily veganized. I’m still daydreaming about the Thai noodles, tofu and veggie summer rolls, and seaweed salad. The desserts were all so good, but we really loved the baklava and the ube sorbet. HSUS has been a vegan policy leader for years and their events are proof of how exciting and delicious vegan catering can be.

Tami hosted a round table discussion. Most people agreed that organizations raising money to save animals shouldn’t support the slaughter or harm of other animals. The attendees described their strategies for broaching the topic with donors. Someone pointed out that supporters attend events because they care about the mission. They aren’t attending animal shelter fundraisers primarily for the food… so serving delectable vegan food that aligns with their mission of saving lives just makes sense!

Many attendees came to our table because they saw the cute plushie goat, pig, and chicken. We had so many lively discussions about how smart and sweet pigs, cows, chickens, and other farmed animals are and how they deserve the same love that cats and dogs do. Many people took either a brochure or signed up for more information. They expressed enthusiasm to discuss the program with their Boards. We left the event feeling very inspired by all the love for animals and excited for HSUS 2024!

Policy Grant Recipient: Peace of Mind Dog Rescue

We are excited to announce Peace of Mind Dog Rescue (POMDR) as our new Policy Grant recipient! Their mission is to find loving foster and forever homes for senior dogs. They help dogs and people from Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito counties in California. They strive to bring positive change to the way society thinks about and treats senior dogs. They do this through rescue, foster, adoption, hospice, and education. They have a lifetime commitment to all the dogs who come into their care.

We love that POMDR adopted a vegetarian menu policy and published the policy on its website. Their policy states, “We believe that all animals should be treated humanely and with compassion throughout their lives. One way POMDR chooses to support the concept of compassion to all living beings is to serve only vegetarian food at all POMDR events, from small meetings of staff and volunteers, to large gatherings such as our annual Lucky Dog Gala. We recommend the same but do not control food options when outside organizations are the primary host or sponsor of an event.”

We are happy to award them the Policy Grant! We really appreciate their dedication to helping senior dogs. Thank you for extending your compassion to all animals!

Vegan Event Grant Recipient: Carol House Quick Fix Pet Clinic

We are excited to announce another Vegan Event Grant Recipient, Carol House Quick Fix Pet Clinic! Their organization offers low-cost spay/neuter in Saint Louis, MO. Over 20,000 adoptable pets are euthanized annually in the St. Louis Metropolitan area. They establish programs and policies to decrease the number of unwanted dogs and cats euthanized each year.

We are honored that Carol House Quick Fix Pet Clinic served vegan food at their 10 Year Celebration event! They celebrated 100,000 spays and neuters which is incredible!

Their vegan food menu included:

• Party Ryes

• Impossible Sliders

• Pretzel Bites with Vegan Cheese

• Vegan Chick’n Wangs

• Vanilla Cake

• Ice Cream: Vanilla Bean, Chocolate Chip, Raspberry Sorbet, Lemon Poppy Seed

Guests enjoyed themselves and thought the food was delicious. The organization reported no difference in event success based on menu choices when compared to previous events. We love to hear that!

Thank you for serving vegan food at your event and congratulations on 100,000 spays and neuters!

Recap: Best Friends National Conference 2022

Food for Thought had a wonderful experience at our second in-person conference this year! Tami Andrew, our East Coast Coordinator, recently attended the Best Friends National Conference in Raleigh, NC.

OUR BOOTH

All the attendees who stopped by our booth were friendly and understood our mission. Many of them are vegan or vegetarian and aware of Food for Thought. It was great to meet some of our supporters!

Food for Thought Sticker

We offered fun giveaways for this conference. We gave out free “Choose Compassion” goat stickers and “Go Vegan!” bracelets. We also hosted a raffle. The prize included homemade dog bandanas and catnip toys sewn by Crystal, our Program Manager, and a decorative sign that says “You can’t buy love, but you can rescue it.” We asked attendees to leave their business card to enter the raffle. We will draft up a vegan menu policy for their organization after the conference.

Raffle Prize

We added fun facts about farmed animals and farmed stuffed animals on our table. Attendees loved them so much! They took photos of these and wanted to know if the farmed stuffed animals were included in the raffle!

VEGAN FOOD

Best Friends Animal Society is a Food for Thought Policy Leader and they served vegan food at this conference. It was delicious and many of the attendees complimented it!

Policy Grant Recipient: Animal Protective Association of Missouri

We are excited to announce the Animal Protective Association of Missouri as our latest Policy Grant recipient! Serving the people and animals of St. Louis is their top priority. The APA is dedicated to bringing people and pets together, advancing humane education, and creating programs beneficial to the human/animal bond. Services provided by the APA include a low-cost veterinary clinic, pet food distribution, and education programs.

This amazing organization has extended its compassionate work by adopting a vegetarian menu policy. The APA stated, “Adopting an animal-friendly food policy was a value-based decision that aligned with our mission and organizational brand. While the APA’s day-to-day efforts focus on companion animals, we are an organization dedicated to caring and advocating for the humane and compassionate treatment of all animals. For this reason, we wanted to also promote welfare-conscious consumption of food at all organization events and meetings.”

Thank you so much to the Animal Protective Association of Missouri for your compassion and your hard work! We couldn’t be happier to award this grant for their dedication to all animals!

Recap: Best Friends National Conference and AAWA Conference

Last month, Food for Thought attended two virtual conferences: Best Friends National Conference and The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement Conference.

The Food for Thought team held virtual booths at both conferences. Our virtual booths showcased resources to help organizations adopt a plant-based menu policy. Attendees were able to visit the booth and browse our resources on their own time.

We were able to connect with attendees through private messaging. This allowed the team to hold conversations as if we were face-to-face. Several attendees expressed their desire to work with our program. We are very excited to work with them to adopt a plant-based menu policy at their organization!

We missed seeing everyone in person, but we are grateful to have made such meaningful connections in a safe environment. As the world begins to reopen, we can't wait to see everyone in person very soon!

Virtual Booth at Best Friends National Conference

Virtual Booth at The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement Conference

Food for Thought Exhibited at 3 Virtual Conferences

Our virtual booths at the conferences:

Organizations are hosting virtual conferences because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Virtual conferences are a great opportunity to network while ensuring attendees’ safety. Last month, Food for Thought exhibited at three virtual conferences.: HSUS Animal Care Expo, Animal Care Conference, and New England Federation of Humane Societies Conference.

Similar to an in-person event, each exhibitor has its own virtual booth. Our virtual booth included resources on how to adopt a policy and our grant opportunities. We engaged with attendees through the public group chat, private message, or video chat.

We received lots of engagement this year! Everyone was very supportive of our program. Several attendees expressed interest in adopting a plant-based menu policy for their organization. Here are some quotes from the conferences:

“Your booth was definitely food for thought! Thank you for the great information!” - HSUS Expo

“Such an important organization & unique mission. Thank you for being part of Expo!” - HSUS Expo

“I appreciate you all soooo much! Thank you for being an Exhibitor here. Your campaign is amazing and your work is changing the world, one meal at a time.” - Animal Care Conference

Since the world is reopening, organizations expect conferences to be in-person next year. We look forward to meeting everyone face-to-face again!

Policy Grant Recipient: Leavenworth County Humane Society

Congratulations to our newest Policy Grant recipient, Leavenworth County Humane Society, Inc.! Based in Kansas, they are the only organization working to build and operate a no-kill shelter that is available to all residents in Leavenworth County. They also offer humane education, veterinary and training assistance, and they work to improve animal care protection laws. Their vision is to be the place where all animals are treated with compassion and have the opportunity to find a loving forever home.

Leavenworth County Humane Society, Inc. recognizes they are a leader in the rescue community who sets humane standards when it comes to the treatment of animals. According to the organization, they adopted a vegan menu policy because they “oppose any practice that causes a sentient being to suffer unnecessarily.” We love seeing shelters make this connection and choose to serve food that is respectful to all.

Thank you for your dedication to helping animals!

Policy Grant Recipient: Ohlone Humane Society

We’re excited to announce a new Policy Grant recipient, Ohlone Humane Society! This Californian-based animal welfare nonprofit advocates for all animals. They serve the Fremont, Newark, and Union City areas and rescue companion animals to native species. In addition to foster and adoption, Ohlone Humane Society provides several community programs including humane education, spay and neuter assistance, an urban wildlife rehabilitation center, and more!

We also love their mission statement: “Ohlone Humane Society strives to inspire respect and compassion for all animals, advocate for their interests and welfare, and instill in our community that all living beings have the right to be treated humanely.” Having a vegan menu policy, they are a perfect example of an organization whose menu aligns with their mission.

Congratulations on adopting a policy and thank you for all your hard work!

Vegan Event Grant Recipient: Spay Neuter Project Los Angeles

Congratulations to our vegan grant recipient, The Spay Neuter Project Los Angeles! This incredible organization provides quality veterinary care to underserved communities in Los Angeles. Their low-waste and fully plant-based event, The Million Pet Soirée, was a huge success in raising money for their cause.

In addition to raising funds, The Spay Neuter Project Los Angeles received positive feedback about their vegan food. They served fruit and cheese platters, caprese pizza, salad with Gorgonzola dressing, sandwiches with veggies and cheese all from a dairy-free cheese shop called Vromage, veggie platters from Heirloom LA, and delicious vegan pastries from Cake Girl. What a perfect opportunity for their non-vegan and vegetarian guests to enjoy good vegan food!

Policy Grant Recipient: Animal Village NM

We're excited to announce a new policy grant recipient: AnimalVillageNM! This New Mexico based no-kill shelter works to reduce the number of dogs and cats who were abandoned for euthanasia at municipal shelters. AnimalVillageNM is not only dedicated to rescuing animals, but focused on giving their adopters the tools to create a loving, forever home. This includes ensuring cats are adopted to homes where they will be indoors and not declawed, providing educational support, and offering K9 training classes. AnimalVillageNM puts animals needs and safety as top priority.

AnimalVillageNM's mission is to help New Mexico become a state of love, compassion, and respect for all animals―creating a world where animals and humans live in harmony. They will continue to stand by these values when serving vegan for all their events, fundraisers, and activities.

​Congratulations on adopting a vegan menu policy!