A major factor preventing numerous people from seriously exploring veganism is simply convenience. Those who’ve had no experience with veganism often find the thought of adopting a vegan diet very daunting. Because of this, COK greatly expanded our restaurant outreach campaign.

While the campaign was aimed initially at publicizing already animal-friendly restaurants on our website, VegDC.com, the campaign now focuses on serious outreach to those eateries which, while not very veg-friendly, could easily alter their menus to include more vegan options.

The success rate has been very high, with more than 125 restaurants displaying COK’s "Proud to Serve Vegetarian & Vegan Meals" decal in their windows.

What’s more, COK has partnered with the vegan restaurant Vegetable Garden. The first Thursday of each month, ten percent of each bill at Vegetable Garden is donated to COK, helping to ensure that we have the necessary funds to continue working for animals.

The Vegetable Garden hosts COK funding days the first Thursday of each month!

COK also works with restaurants to add separate vegan menus—normally including mock meats and vegan soy cheeses—to their selections. Several restaurants, such as Washington Deli, Pumpernickel’s Bagelry, Asylum, and Big Belly Deli now offer vegan menus as a result of working with COK, and Java Green in downtown D.C. reopened as an all-vegetarian (nearly vegan) restaurant! Click here to read more about this program.

Presenting ethical arguments is a crucial aspect of vegan outreach, but often times, the animal rights philosophy needs to be supplemented with showing how very easy it is to make the switch to a gentler, more compassionate lifestyle. As COK’s restaurant outreach campaign continues to grow, it will become more and more apparent to those in the D.C.-area that being vegan has never been easier!