Dear Climate Healers,
“Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen” – Brene Brown.
Share Vega’s message about animal agriculture and climate change.
Share Vega’s message about Food Healers.
We came from everywhere. We made it happen.
Russ came from California, Meg and Denny from Pennsylvania.
Shankar, Ravi and Sushanth came from Maryland, Renee and Tommy from Texas.
Neetu and Nirvan came from New Jersey, Angela and Roland from Brooklyn.
Jason, Mitchell, Chip and Alan were the locals from Manhattan.
We represented different organizations: Whole Communities, World Vegan Vision, Vallalar Vegan Food Healers, Rowdy Girl Sanctuary, Vegan Pop Eats, Media Dream Productions, Eco Restoration Alliance, to name a few.
We all congregated at the Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen’s Club, 283 Lexington Ave, NY, in a multi-story building that was part of a large social club founded by Cornelia Rogers, Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., and General John Pershing to accommodate soldiers returning from the First World War in 1919. It has been used to provide subsidized accommodation in New York City for all military personnel ever since.
We hung a World Food Healers day banner and made “Cowrage Laddus” under the watchful eyes of Presidents and Generals, past and present, whose portraits adorned the walls of the canteen and kitchen. It was symbolic. The SSMA Club has closed and the building is up for sale.
War is so yesterday. Peace will reign supreme in the days ahead.
The large gas burners in the commercial kitchen at the SSMA Club were not working. We used electric induction cooktops instead. Our Vitamix overheated and took extended periods of rest to cool itself.
We improvised. We mashed up the cooked sweet potatoes by hand and cut up the dates into bits. We powdered the oatmeal and used oat flour instead of roasted rice flour.
The result was phenomenal. We took trays of the Cowrage Laddus to Tompkins Square park and handed them over to Eloisa, Joe, Peter and the Chilis on Wheels crew who were serving vegan dinner to people in the park, as they have been doing every Saturday for the past nine years! Everyone who tried the Laddus said they were just the “bomb”.
Vega the Cow made an appearance in the balcony of the SSMA Club and flapped her ears to waving passers-by. Roland documented everything with his video camera.
Who would have thought that New York City would be the first city in the world that openly welcomed our proposal to feed healthy, whole foods, plant-based vegan meals to all for free?
The Mayoral proclamation in support of World Food Healers day read nothing like the text we had submitted in our application. It was inspiring to all, for clearly, the Mayor’s administration had thought this through thoroughly:
Office of the Mayor
City of New York
Proclamation
Whereas, The food we eat is one of the most dynamic and powerful forces in our lives. It sparks joy in our tastebuds; it is a vehicle for culture and history, and it revitalizes our spirit while fortifying our body. My Administration is committed to ensuring that all New Yorkers have access to healthful foods, as well as the educational materials to help them understand transformative ways of eating. Through the expansion of lifestyle medicine services at NY Health + Hospitals, and new initiatives such as Plant Powered Fridays, which provides plant-based lunch options to children in school, we have worked to fulfill this important goal, along with the help of allies such as Climate Healers.
Whereas, Climate Healers envisions a more cooperative and equitable society that encourages people to come together in an effort to rejuvenate the natural world. By following the North Star of veganism and plant-based eating, this organization encourages people to uncover the associated environmental and health benefits of this diet, such as a reduced carbon footprint and lower risk of diabetes. Climate Healers also helps simplify the pathway to veganism by sharing recipes such as its renowned Unity Stew, created with accessible and low-cost foods. It is movements such as this that have the potential to change our food system, and in the process, transform our collective mindset. Through its philosophy, which emphasizes the ideals of compassion, human rights, and oneness, this group is working to eliminate food poverty and build a world with generosity and justice as its base.
Whereas, When we change our dinners, we change our destinies, and in doing so, we save lives. We craft a future fueled by clean, healthy, and tasty energy that allows us to reach new heights and achieve the impossible. Today, we celebrate World Food Healers Day, which occurs on the third Sunday of every month. On these days, Climate Healers serves free plant-based meals to those in need and reminds all of us of the immensely positive impact that we have a fundamental responsibility to make. For their efforts, I am pleased to commend Climate Healers for its commitment to forging a healthful, equitable and sustainable New York City.
Now therefore, I, Eric Adams, Mayor of the City of New York, do hereby proclaim Sunday, December 18th, 2022 in the City of New York as:
World Food Healers Day.
Signed,
Eric Adams
Mayor
We left the original of the Mayoral proclamation at the Bhakti Center in lower Manhattan, where it will be framed and hung on the wall for New Yorkers to see. We were planning to have Vega march over to City Hall, but the Mayor’s office requested that we don’t. We decided to honor their request.
On Sunday, Dec 18, World Food Healers Day, we learned officially that Trix and Philip Wollen at the Winsome Constance Kindness Trust have chosen me to receive the 2022 Winsome Constance Kindness Medal. My heart brims with gratitude for all those whose shoulders I stand upon. My work would not be possible without the tireless efforts of all who showed up and the entire Climate Healers team.
Yes, a new day has dawned. A new world is beckoning to us. Eric Adams, the Mayor of New York has shown the Cowrage to take the institutional leadership we need.
If we can make it here, we can make it anywhere.
Thank you for your support.
HELP US on World Food Healers day and every day to
Heal the planet.
Eat plants.
Love animals.
Plant trees.
It’s that simple.
Thanks again for being a superhero and joining our herd. Please forward this post to all your friends and let’s grow our MOOvement together.