January 29, 2024

Nicola’s activities with Compassionate Action for Animals (CAA) are many and varied. She moved back to the Twin Cities after 12 years in Michigan and, since then, has participated in many CAA events. First, she attended the July 4th Potluck and loved it so much that she decided to become more active with CAA. She also enjoyed the Twin Cities Vegan Bike Crawl, the Vegan Chef Challenge, Twin Cities VegFest, and the ThanksLiving Potluck.

When planning her move here, Nicola immediately searched for a veg fest. She found our Twin Cities VegFest and got excited to connect with CAA. Nicola credits CAA for ensuring the Twin Cities is a thriving vegan hub and appreciates its other fun community and volunteer events.

In her first volunteer role with CAA, she helped organize and serve a lunch at Simpson Housing Services. The event welcomed 25 people experiencing homelessness with a tasty plant-based meal. “It was so rewarding to see shelter guests enjoying our food!” said Nicola.

Nicola loves to cook and often shares the plant-based food she makes with others. This is a core part of her activism. She appreciates that CAA activities allow her to do what she loves while advocating for farmed animals. Her favorite cookbooks include “Isa Does It” and “Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar.” Both are by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. Per Nicola, “I’m not going to give up comfort food just because I’m vegan!”

She is also a climate activist and co-leads the MN West Suburbs chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby. For Nicola, going vegan has been the easiest, cheapest, and most impactful climate action she has taken. She believes that, “We won’t solve the climate crisis without changing the way we eat.” 

Nicola is currently organizing an in-person screening of The Smell of Money for CAA. This environmental justice film highlights human rights abuses surrounding the meat industry. It’s eye-opening and inspiring — stay tuned for more information!