Darren and his fiancée PaFoua Hang attended last year’s CAA Veg Fest fundraising event. They heard Laura Matanah speak about the organization and its mission. Because of her passion, they explored more of what CAA offers. 

Laura connected them to other CAA-sponsored events. They enjoyed the tour to Farmaste Animal Sanctuary. Interacting with rescued animals and meeting other people with similar interests was exciting. After that trip, they decided to get more involved.

In 2022 they volunteered at Twin Cities Veg Fest and, more recently, at the 2023 Chili Cookoff. Darren’s role with the Annual Banquet committee includes volunteer registration and contacting potential corporate sponsors.

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After a cross-country rescue, Stewie and Dewey have a new home at Farmaste Animal Sanctuary.  Farmaste heard about these two mini donkeys from Farm Sanctuary’s adoption program. Their main caretaker had started to have health problems, and wasn’t able to care for them any longer.  

Farmaste picked them up in New York in November, 2022 for the long drive back. They have since settled into their new home with the big cows for neighbors.

These two sweet (and cute!) boys have very different personalities. Stewie is shy and has taken on the role of Dewey’s protector.  Dewey is calm and loves to be petted. As the protector, Stewie loves to stand guard and zoom around the paths in his pasture. Dewey gravitates to the people, hoping he can snag some treats!  The two are best buddies.

They are both fortunate to have escaped their past life. Dewey was rescued from a kill pen. Stewie had been raised by an overcrowded breeder. They are now living their best lives at Farmaste’s wonderful sanctuary.

March 1, 2023

There is something for everyone in CAA’s Auction this year! You can bid to take home one of the over 50 donated items. You get something you really want and CAA gets funds to help spare more animals from lives of suffering.

Log into the auction website to see photos, read descriptions and place your bids. Once you bid you will get notices if someone outbids you. Looking at the great choices, it seems we may get some fun bidding wars going on! So bid early and often.

Here is just a taste of the tantalizing items on offer:

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by Jodi Miller Gruhn, Wholesome Minnesota Director, February 22, 2023

My visit to Armstrong High school was one of my favorite days working for Wholesome Minnesota. The FACS (Family and Consumer Science) teachers had promoted my “vegan” visit and the students in the seven classes I visited were incredibly curious. Some because they are interested in plant-based eating, others because they thought it was unbelievable that someone would choose a plant-based lifestyle. These two curiosities made for interesting conversations and a real dialogue between myself and the students.

I shared a short presentation about  the power of our plates in terms of health, the environment, animals and inclusivity. The most powerful moment of the day occurred when a Muslim student approached me upset that they couldn’t make or eat the sausage I’d brought because of their religion. After I explained the sausage was entirely made from plants, and that I would never bring food that one cultural group couldn’t eat, a larger conversation including the entire class occurred. We talked about the power of inclusivity and what it feels like to be excluded due to dietary reasons. The student who’d raised the issue left the class beaming.

We made pancakes with oat and chickpea flour focused on the importance of fiber and easy ways to up the protein in almost any recipe. I shared substitutes for eggs like aquafaba, applesauce, and flax and chia seeds. 

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Kelso Anderson was introduced to CAA in the summer of 2022 at a video outreach event. He wasn’t planning to alter his “health-motivated” vegetarian diet. Still, his view of animals changed significantly after seeing the video. That summer, he read Dominion by Matthew Scully. Shortly after, he attended his first Veg Fest and joined the University of Minnesota’s CAA student group. He went vegan to mark the occasion of his 21st birthday.

Kelso reveled in the community support he found at CAA and the Veg Fest. Spending time with like-minded people accelerated his dietary changes and made transitioning to a plant-based diet feel effortless. Because of the support he received, he was inspired to start volunteering and help others discover that living in alignment with their principles is achievable. 

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After a pandemic break we came back with a bang for the 12th Annual Vegan Chili Cook-Off! 170 people joined us to sample and rate great vegan chili. The constant refrain from taste-testers was, “I’m so glad I came, all of the chilis were great and so different!”

Much thanks to our talented, professional contestants: The Howe Daily Kitchen, Vegan Byy Nature, The Herbivorous Butcher/J. Selby’s and H.E.A.L. Minneapolis. Each of the contestants showed their passion and skills through their delicious chilis.

After the ratings were tabulated, first time competitor The Howe Daily Kitchen won first place and the coveted Chicken Statue! The animals were the true winners though as many people were exposed to how tasty vegan food can be! 

Participants went home with a new appreciation for vegan food and our vibrant community. Comments included: “I liked the chili and everyone was super-friendly,”  “It was fun to learn about new restaurants,”  and “This was my first CAA event and I liked seeing different ways to eat vegan.”

A guest blog by Chicken Run Rescue

Monique was our 1209th rescue who arrived last August. Like most, her story started with an email: 

“Hi…a hen wandered into our garage last night.  Neighbors said they’ve seen it wandering around for a few days so I don’t think it will find its way home.  Has infected eye and maybe something wrong with it’s beak. What should I do with it? We can’t keep it.” Neighbors had been chasing her out of their yards and into the street. As always for stray reports, I asked for pictures of the bird and of where they were at the moment. I wept when I saw the extent of her eye infection to think of her wandering about with no food or protection and knew her options were non-existent if we didn’t step in. The event of bird flu had just resurfaced and was now considered to be endemic- here to stay- so we had to be be on high biosecurity alert to keep our residents safe. It would take some time and networking to find her a safe place to be fostered and vet care arranged.

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February 6, 2022

39 readers of our weekly CAA newsletter responded to our recent survey. We appreciate each of you who took the time to respond. We want to share the results and how we’re using them to shape newsletter content.

In general, readers were very positive. They especially appreciated the brief, positive, and welcoming content. Details are reported below. You will see that readers said that the newsletter helped increase their knowledge in targeted areas. We plan to adjust our content to improve on these metrics.

We also asked for readers’ general likes and suggestions. Readers are primarily interested in information on upcoming events. They also like profiles on individuals and of the sanctuary animals that motivate us. In addition, they like information on how to take action for animals. They appreciate gaining knowledge in key areas.

Some representative quotes:

• I am reminded through the emails that there is a community of people advocating and spreading awareness
• I like that it manages to update you on all the events and current actions but is still brief
• I like hearing about vegan news and events that are local to me and different ways veganism are/can be incorporated in the community!

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