Katherine Green

The Chautauqua County Vegetarian-Vegan Society will meet on Sunday, Nov. 11, at 1 p.m. at the YWCA, 58 S. Portage St., Westfield. Meetings will be held Sunday afternoons during the fall and winter months as the daylight gets shorter.

This month’s presenter will be Katherine Green, who will speak on the “Compassionate Action Project,” (CAP) based in Erie. This program was begun by Green and became a non-profit organization in 2010. CAP’s mission is to provide healthful, healing plant based foods and personal care items to eligible low income people. There are no paid employees, but rather dedicated volunteers desiring to help people within Erie County, Pennsylvania. All donations or grant funds received go toward purchasing healthful plant based foods or for minimal business expenses. Those attending the November meeting are requested to bring a food donation for the CAP pantry. Donations should be vegan, non-perishable foods such as bagged dry beans, canned vegetables in water, shelf-stable non-dairy milk or bagged potatoes and onions.

Katherine Green lives in Erie, Pennsylvania with her husband and son. She studied human services at SUNY, where she earned her associate’s degree. She is a spiritual person who enjoys helping others, especially through CAP. Her food outreach programs help raise awareness of the cruel abuse inflicted on animals in today’s food industry. These food programs also help encourage environmental stewardship. She has been vegetarian for over 25 years and vegan for 16 years.

The menu for the evening will be “Pot-Luck Thanksgiving Dinner.” The Vegetarian Society will provide festive walnut-stuffed Butternut squash, cranberry relish, tossed salad and pumpkin pie. Those attending are invited (but not required) to bring a traditional Thanksgiving food dish to share, such as mashed potatoes, brown gravy, stuffing, roast vegetables, cornbread, apple butter or cider. All food should be vegan (no meat, eggs or dairy products), and, if possible, organic and locally grown. Those attending should also bring their own table service.

The cost of the dinner is $6 per person, or $2 per person if bringing a dish to share, with reduced rates for children. For more information or to make a reservation, call Gail Erb at 753-7761 or Anne Watkins at 782-4334, or email annewatkins@juno.com.

All meetings are open to the public, especially to those who are interested in learning more about healthy eating and living. It is not necessary to be vegan or vegetarian to attend the meeting. The Vegetarian Society is an information and support group for individuals seeking to explore healthy eating through vegetarian or vegan lifestyles. The group meets monthly for a vegan dinner. For more information, go to Facebook at Chautauqua-Vegetarian-Society.