We handed out more than 5,000 leaflets at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, to encourage compassionate food choices.

The cold and the snow didn't stop us from passing out 5,047 Vegan Outreach leaflets on Monday, March 11! John Oberg joined us as he hands out leaflets at colleges across the country. This is one of the highest number of leaflets ever passed out at a college campus, and we did this even with poor weather!

Do you want to help animals and missed this opportunity? Please join us April 15-19 for Minnesota College Leafleting Week! Dozens of volunteers will spread the word even more widely as we hand out leaflets across the state.

We're hearing from people every day that they are changing their eating habits to help animals as a result of our work. Thanks to everybody who helped out!

Perhaps you attended our 2013 chili cook-off and want to recreate your favorite one at home? Or maybe you missed out on the event and want to get a taste of the best? If you answered ‘yes’ to either then check out the top 3 recipes of the year!

This year’s vegan chili cook-off was an intense event with many delicious pots of chili vying for the title of 2013’s best vegan chili as determined by the magnificent judges at the event. Some of you who made it to the event may be itching to recreate your favorite pot of chili at home while those of you who missed out are likely suffering from a chili deficiency and are ready to whip some up at home.

Whatever your reason for wanting to make some amazing chili (who are we kidding, no excuse is needed to make vegan chili), we now have the recipes from the top 3 competitors at this year’s event ready for you to enjoy in the comfort of your own kitchen!

• Betsy Born took first place this year and her chili recipe is sure to warm you up on a cold winter night or even a cool spring or fall evening!
• Jacob Carrigan took second place with his Mexican-inspired chili recipe that will have you wanting to dance the salsa!
• Third place this year went to Patrick Mullen with his pepper-packed holy moly chili recipe that incorporates a little beer and chocolate for good measure!

We hope you enjoy these chili recipes as much as we did! If you think you can top these be sure to check out the experience of one of or first-time competitors and then be on the lookout for our 2014 competition!

More than 200 people sampled vegan chili on March 2 and picked the best in town!

The competition again was fierce at our 4th Annual Vegan Chili Cook-Off. The following took the top three places:

1. Betsy Born
2. Jacob Carrigan
3. Pat Mullen

Once again, we had a repeat of two of the top winners — but this time in a different order! Long time Compassionate Action for Animals volunteer and cook Betsy Born won the top prize. She placed 3rd at the first cook-off and was the runner-up the last two years. Jacob Carrigan is a new contestant, who won with his chili dubbed his entry "Unny's delight" after CAA's Executive Director. Pat Mullen is a new name to this list, but he's a member of the same team that won the last two cook-off's. Congrats to all three of them, and thanks to all the contestants who participated.

Prizes for the winning chili contestants included:

• Vegan Eats World by Terry Hope Romero
• Betty Goes Vegan Cookbook by Annie and Dan Shannon
• Gift certificates from Pizza Luce Seward
• Gift card for Common Roots Cafe
• Top-Prize was from the Ecopolitan Restaurant!

In addition to the excellent chili in the competition, we also served several gallons of People's Chili, several pans of bread, Izzy's vegan ice cream, and Way Better Snacks tortilla chips. Thanks to the businesses and individuals for their generous donations and discounts!

Thanks as well to the First Unitarian Society for hosting us in this beautiful location. Finally, thanks to the volunteers who made this event — and all of CAA's animal advocacy work — possible.

We still have 9 spots left!

Like cooking chili? Have a secret family recipe? Then you might have what it takes to win 1st place at CAA's 4th Annual Vegan Chili Cook-Off! Registration costs $20. Awesome animal-friendly prizes will be awarded to the top three recipes as determined by popular vote. Contestants must bring 24 cups of prepared vegan (no animal products) chili, a list of ingredients, and a crock pot (or something without an open flame to keep your chili warm).

The 4th Annual Vegan Chili Cook-Off takes place on Saturday, March 2 at the First Unitarian Church, 900 Mount Curve Drive, Minneapolis. Beverages will be provided for washing down some spicy chili. Over 150 people attended last year's cook-off, and we expect a similar crowd again this year!

Check out the Facebook event and invite your friends.

We would like to thank everyone for helping us meet our goal of $15,000 in donations over the holiday season! Thanks to a generous anonymous donor, your donations were matched dollar-for-dollar. We are very grateful for your support!

With the start of a new year our conviction is renewed. Our volunteers are preparing for leafleting, tabling, and handing out free vegan food samples. The 4th annual Vegan Chili Cook-Off is right around the corner, and our humane education program has already scheduled presentations for local schools. We also plan to significantly increase the participation and visibility of Veg Fest 2013 as well as ramp up our screenings of the gripping, short documentary Farm to Fridge.

Our efforts and the overall progress of our movement wouldn't be possible without the generous support of donors like you. Thank you!