At a glance
VeggieFest promotes health, environmentalism, and ethical eating through plant-based eating. The event features a vegetarian… Read full summary
- Funding received
- 2022-2023
- Small
- Awarded
- $4,426
- Funding partners
-
- Services and Activities Fee (SAF)
VeggieFest promotes health, environmentalism, and ethical eating through plant-based eating. The event features a vegetarian buffet with locally-sourced meals, educational activities on environmental issues, and mindfulness about food and wellness. CSF funding will support compostable serving supplies, venue costs, and waste disposal efforts. By showcasing sustainability and ethical practices, VeggieFest aims to inspire a more environmentally conscious community.
VeggieFest is an event that exemplifies our organization's values toward health, environmentalism, and ethical eating practices. Thus we have three goals, in descending order of importance: Our main goal is to showcase why plant-based eating is an easy and enjoyable sustainability measure towards protecting our environment. Our second goal is to introduce our campus community to delicious locally-sourced restaurants and brands. Our third goal is to promote mindfulness toward food, especially with regards to lifestyle and wellness.
Goal one and goal two are achieved by a large-scale vegetarian buffet which showcases fresh meals prepared by our organization and catered by two local restaurants. In addition to the food provided, the event includes educational games and activities that focus on explaining current environmental issues through Earth-Day (Apr. 22) themed presentations. In order to reduce the overall cost that is associated with the event, admissions tickets will be priced at $15 per person. The event will be hosted in Mary Gates Hall, and we predict around 210 people in attendance.
The funding we plan to receive from CSF will assist our organization in purchasing compostable serving equipment such as plates, bowls, cups, and utensils. This funding will also be used to pay for the venue and kitchen facilities required to prepare our home-style vegetarian food.
During our event, we will prioritize correct garbage classification by providing different types of garbage bins and creating signs with composting and recycling instructions. We will ensure that our participants are environmentally conscious and educated on how to dispose of food waste correctly. Overall, we hope that VeggieFest will inspire the community to embrace sustainable and ethical eating practices and promote a
more environmentally conscious lifestyle.
Ling Ling Lee
Project lead
- ling10@uw.edu
- Affiliation
- Student
- Years
- 1 year(s) remaining at UW
- Affiliated groups
- Tzu Chi Collegiate Association
Nat Chiu
Team member
- nc64@uw.edu
- Affiliation
- Student
- Years
- 1 year(s) remaining at UW
- Affiliated groups
- Tzu Chi Collegiate Association
Request amount and budget
Plans for financial longevity
We hope that VeggieFest will become an annual event on campus that can promote our mission to the community every year. Additionally, the marketing material and website for this event will remain online even after the date. Our social media and website will be updated regularly with our organization’s events that relate to sustainability and environmental protection.
Problem statement
The main goal of VeggieFest is to educate the wider campus community on the positive impact that eating a local plant-based diet can have on both our health and the environment. One such (little-known) impact is that the consumption of more plants contributes directly to reduction of global famine through energy- efficient feeding practices and higher retention of biomass. Additionally, the meat and dairy industries produce excess byproducts that pollute our atmosphere and damage our ecosystems.
This event was inspired by the words of founder of the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, Master Cheng Yen, who promotes the idea of cherishing all life forms with “gratitude, respect, and love.” An important focus of these words is having mindfulness towards our food – of acknowledging and appreciating where one’s food source originates. This is an important motivation in the creation of our event. We feel that consumerism, fast food and the convenience of delivery have caused people to lose touch with food, especially amongst college students.
Problem context
There are aspects of VeggieFest that can supplement ongoing actions by the University. Firstly, our event will work to directly enhance student, staff, and faculty sustainability engagement through the introduction of various sustainable, local, and ethical plant-based foods to their diets. Additionally, our target audience for this event is the campus community, including current college students. We aim to educate people on the importance of plant-based diets and sustainable eating, as well as drifting away from the misconception that animal-based meals taste better than plant-based meals. Moreover, VeggieFest meals will all be locally sourced - which contributes to the University goal of 35% of food from local sources by 2035.
Our plan for VeggieFest is to showcase a diverse buffet of vegetarian food from local restaurants and food prepared by our volunteers. This showcase of diverse cuisines from around the world aims to introduce not only plant-based food but the diversity of food that surrounds our community. We hope that this event is able to foster a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment at the University of Washington by bringing people from all sectors of the community to gather for a meal together that celebrates plant-based food from around the world.
Measure the impacts
| Impact / goal | Metric(s) of success | UW stakeholders impacted |
|---|---|---|
| Educate people on the sustainability of plant-based eating. | 250 people in attendance | Undergraduate, Graduate, Alumni, Academic staff, Admin staff |
| Introduce people to the wonderful taste, health benefits and variety of plant-based foods. | 250 people in attendance | Undergraduate, Graduate, Alumni, Academic staff, Admin staff |
| Help reduce and reverse environmental degradation. | n/a | Undergraduate, Graduate, Alumni, Academic staff |
Communication tactics and tools
We will be utilizing various strategies to market our event. That will mostly take in the form of social media, tabling, posters/pamphlets, UW faculty promotion and by word of mouth. Social media is our most important communications resource. We will use the TCCA Seattle Instagram and Facebook pages to promote our event through posts and linktrees. Additionally, Tzu Chi and TCCA national social media pages are also resources that we can use to cast a wider net. We will be tabling in Red Square and/or the Quad for two weeks prior to the event to boost ticket sales for our event and bring exposure to our club’s mission. Lastly, a website platform will serve as an educational and ticket purchasing platform.
Outreach communication plan
The UW community will be directly impacted by attending our event and learning about the benefits of eating sustainably and ethically from the plant-based food options that will be offered at Veggie Fest. Students, Faculty, and other UW staff will benefit from a lively event with food and activities that supports a good cause aimed at educating the campus community on the impact that we can have on climate change. Additionally, attendees from all over Seattle will experience the environment that UW as a school has to offer which can ultimately benefit the school and attendees.
Student involvement
VeggieFest will require volunteers to help the event run smoothly. There will be opportunities for volunteers to help with cooking the vegetarian meals, serve the food at the event, and run activity booths. These will all be opportunities for students at the University of Washington to learn more about sustainable and ethical eating while volunteering with our organization.
Problem statement
The main goal of VeggieFest is to educate the wider campus community on the positive impact that eating a local plant-based diet can have on both our health and the environment. One such (little-known) impact is that the consumption of more plants contributes directly to reduction of global famine through energy- efficient feeding practices and higher retention of biomass. Additionally, the meat and dairy industries produce excess byproducts that pollute our atmosphere and damage our ecosystems.
This event was inspired by the words of founder of the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, Master Cheng Yen, who promotes the idea of cherishing all life forms with “gratitude, respect, and love.” An important focus of these words is having mindfulness towards our food – of acknowledging and appreciating where one’s food source originates. This is an important motivation in the creation of our event. We feel that consumerism, fast food and the convenience of delivery have caused people to lose touch with food, especially amongst college students.
Problem context
There are aspects of VeggieFest that can supplement ongoing actions by the University. Firstly, our event will work to directly enhance student, staff, and faculty sustainability engagement through the introduction of various sustainable, local, and ethical plant-based foods to their diets. Additionally, our target audience for this event is the campus community, including current college students. We aim to educate people on the importance of plant-based diets and sustainable eating, as well as drifting away from the misconception that animal-based meals taste better than plant-based meals. Moreover, VeggieFest meals will all be locally sourced - which contributes to the University goal of 35% of food from local sources by 2035.
Our plan for VeggieFest is to showcase a diverse buffet of vegetarian food from local restaurants and food prepared by our volunteers. This showcase of diverse cuisines from around the world aims to introduce not only plant-based food but the diversity of food that surrounds our community. We hope that this event is able to foster a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment at the University of Washington by bringing people from all sectors of the community to gather for a meal together that celebrates plant-based food from around the world.
Measure the impacts
| Impact / goal | Metric(s) of success | UW stakeholders impacted |
|---|---|---|
| Educate people on the sustainability of plant-based eating. | 250 people in attendance | Undergraduate, Graduate, Alumni, Academic staff, Admin staff |
| Introduce people to the wonderful taste, health benefits and variety of plant-based foods. | 250 people in attendance | Undergraduate, Graduate, Alumni, Academic staff, Admin staff |
| Help reduce and reverse environmental degradation. | n/a | Undergraduate, Graduate, Alumni, Academic staff |
Communication tactics and tools
We will be utilizing various strategies to market our event. That will mostly take in the form of social media, tabling, posters/pamphlets, UW faculty promotion and by word of mouth. Social media is our most important communications resource. We will use the TCCA Seattle Instagram and Facebook pages to promote our event through posts and linktrees. Additionally, Tzu Chi and TCCA national social media pages are also resources that we can use to cast a wider net. We will be tabling in Red Square and/or the Quad for two weeks prior to the event to boost ticket sales for our event and bring exposure to our club’s mission. Lastly, a website platform will serve as an educational and ticket purchasing platform.
Outreach communication plan
The UW community will be directly impacted by attending our event and learning about the benefits of eating sustainably and ethically from the plant-based food options that will be offered at Veggie Fest. Students, Faculty, and other UW staff will benefit from a lively event with food and activities that supports a good cause aimed at educating the campus community on the impact that we can have on climate change. Additionally, attendees from all over Seattle will experience the environment that UW as a school has to offer which can ultimately benefit the school and attendees.
Student involvement
VeggieFest will require volunteers to help the event run smoothly. There will be opportunities for volunteers to help with cooking the vegetarian meals, serve the food at the event, and run activity booths. These will all be opportunities for students at the University of Washington to learn more about sustainable and ethical eating while volunteering with our organization.
Problem statement
The main goal of VeggieFest is to educate the wider campus community on the positive impact that eating a local plant-based diet can have on both our health and the environment. One such (little-known) impact is that the consumption of more plants contributes directly to reduction of global famine through energy- efficient feeding practices and higher retention of biomass. Additionally, the meat and dairy industries produce excess byproducts that pollute our atmosphere and damage our ecosystems.
This event was inspired by the words of founder of the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, Master Cheng Yen, who promotes the idea of cherishing all life forms with “gratitude, respect, and love.” An important focus of these words is having mindfulness towards our food – of acknowledging and appreciating where one’s food source originates. This is an important motivation in the creation of our event. We feel that consumerism, fast food and the convenience of delivery have caused people to lose touch with food, especially amongst college students.
Problem context
There are aspects of VeggieFest that can supplement ongoing actions by the University. Firstly, our event will work to directly enhance student, staff, and faculty sustainability engagement through the introduction of various sustainable, local, and ethical plant-based foods to their diets. Additionally, our target audience for this event is the campus community, including current college students. We aim to educate people on the importance of plant-based diets and sustainable eating, as well as drifting away from the misconception that animal-based meals taste better than plant-based meals. Moreover, VeggieFest meals will all be locally sourced - which contributes to the University goal of 35% of food from local sources by 2035.
Our plan for VeggieFest is to showcase a diverse buffet of vegetarian food from local restaurants and food prepared by our volunteers. This showcase of diverse cuisines from around the world aims to introduce not only plant-based food but the diversity of food that surrounds our community. We hope that this event is able to foster a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment at the University of Washington by bringing people from all sectors of the community to gather for a meal together that celebrates plant-based food from around the world.
Measure the impacts
| Impact / goal | Metric(s) of success | UW stakeholders impacted |
|---|---|---|
| Educate people on the sustainability of plant-based eating. | 250 people in attendance | Undergraduate, Graduate, Alumni, Academic staff, Admin staff |
| Introduce people to the wonderful taste, health benefits and variety of plant-based foods. | 250 people in attendance | Undergraduate, Graduate, Alumni, Academic staff, Admin staff |
| Help reduce and reverse environmental degradation. | n/a | Undergraduate, Graduate, Alumni, Academic staff |
Communication tactics and tools
We will be utilizing various strategies to market our event. That will mostly take in the form of social media, tabling, posters/pamphlets, UW faculty promotion and by word of mouth. Social media is our most important communications resource. We will use the TCCA Seattle Instagram and Facebook pages to promote our event through posts and linktrees. Additionally, Tzu Chi and TCCA national social media pages are also resources that we can use to cast a wider net. We will be tabling in Red Square and/or the Quad for two weeks prior to the event to boost ticket sales for our event and bring exposure to our club’s mission. Lastly, a website platform will serve as an educational and ticket purchasing platform.
Outreach communication plan
The UW community will be directly impacted by attending our event and learning about the benefits of eating sustainably and ethically from the plant-based food options that will be offered at Veggie Fest. Students, Faculty, and other UW staff will benefit from a lively event with food and activities that supports a good cause aimed at educating the campus community on the impact that we can have on climate change. Additionally, attendees from all over Seattle will experience the environment that UW as a school has to offer which can ultimately benefit the school and attendees.
Student involvement
VeggieFest will require volunteers to help the event run smoothly. There will be opportunities for volunteers to help with cooking the vegetarian meals, serve the food at the event, and run activity booths. These will all be opportunities for students at the University of Washington to learn more about sustainable and ethical eating while volunteering with our organization.