Resources for low-income or otherwise struggling vegans
TW/CW: food, eating disorders, ableism, disability/illness, classism, homelessness, germaphobia/OCD
The biggest obstacle I’ve seen that prevents people from making the switch to veganism is being on a tight budget. It is so important that we take an intersectional approach to veganism by acknowledging classism and other marginalizations. So since I am your fairy vegan mother, I have compiled some resources to help anyone who finds it difficult to be vegan due to finances. Or really anyone who wants to save some money! Feel free to share this post. Disclaimer: I do not have first hand experience with being poor, so I have taken all of this advice from listening to people who have. I don’t want to speak over anyone so that’s why a lot of this will be links to stuff written by actual poor vegans :)
Here is a big list with many different tips from saving while grocery shopping, to what you should buy, to cheap and easy recipes, to finding cheap vegan cosmetics.
Here are some recipes for people as lazy as myself who just use their microwave for everything. (Ignore the fact that this is from stinky peta)
Some more lazy recipes that do not require cooking.
Some more cheap recipes here and here
Many people struggle to find a brand of affordable vegan cheese. Luckily there are ways to make it yourself and it doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive! Find some recipes here
A list of extremely helpful blogs on the topic
Vegan on a Budget (now inactive but still helpful)
Eating vegan at fast food restaurants
Lots of people tell me that they unfortunately find it too difficult to be vegan because they are forced to depend on fast food places for a cheap and quick meal. Lots of people live in food deserts and do not always have access to the food that other people have, and the majority of vegans neglect to discuss this problem. While some areas in California may have ve*gan drive-thrus, we aren’t all quite there yet. So here’s some help when you’re at fast food restaurants! Also I can’t list all of them but literally you can just google “vegan taco bell menu” or “vegan starbucks menu” or “vegan white castle menu” (they just announced their veggie burger sliders are vegan!!!) and you will have all you need right in front of you. Here and here and here
Vegans with illnesses/disabilities, eating disorders, allergies, or who are experiencing homelessness
Here is a totally awesome and invaluable list of firsthand resources for people who are allergic to stuff like soy or gluten, are disabled, have/have had eating disorders, have auto immune disorders, or are experiencing homelessness. These topics are very sensitive and are case by case so don’t feel guilty just because something works for one person but it may not work for you. This is just meant to help as these topics are very often neglected and misunderstood by the majority of the vegan community and as a result it can be very offputting for some. Also there are some blogs like this one, and also the Vegan Feminist Network never fails to cover everything when it comes to intersectional veganism.
Also related to homelessness is freeganism, or in other words, “dumpster diving” for your food (although I’m not sure if all freegans are vegan). Here’s a site that will have lots of info and events you can attend. It is not always literally going into dumpsters; it is very often just taking the stuff that stores and restaurants are throwing out at the end of the day and tons of it is perfectly good. Honestly even though it would feel very appropriative of other people’s struggles I have strongly been considering doing this, as you’d be surprised how much perfectly good food we actually throw away in the US.
Some organizations that feed veg food to the homeless/low income communities, here and here
To find cheap vegan cook books just look on amazon or ebay and look under the “used” category to find the cheapest possible option. Also you sometimes can luck out if you look hard enough at a second hand store!
The number one thing you need to know is that if you are looking to save as much money as possible, you will not be able to buy too many specialty items. By that I mean stuff like faux meat and other things that are “specially veganized.” Good old fashioned veggie burgers made with chickpeas or sweet potatoes are fucking amazing, trust me. And you can always make your own faux meats if you really want to! A lot of brands that are not necessarily vegan will have dirt cheap meals like veggie soups, rice and beans, pasta, etc (check the frozen aisle and canned food aisle)! Once you nail the staple foods, it gets a lot less overwhelming. Also you don’t have to go on one big definitive “fill up the fridge with vegan food” shopping trip. You can of course just gradually replace non vegan things as you run out of them. PS: you will likely find that the cheapest options for vegan milk (almond, soy, rice, there are many types) will usually just be the generic/store brand. Tastes the same as Silk brand or Almond Dream brand. (This rule applies for restaurants as well; specially all vegan restaurants are usually not going to be as affordable as just getting a vegan option at a regular restaurant. If you’re too nervous to ask for the ingredients just google the place before hand.)
As far as I have observed, unless you have a certain health condition, you should not have to worry about taking any kind of supplemental vitamins. The ONLY thing vegans have somewhat of a hard time getting is vitamin B12 and you can get that from a few different sources, including milks that are fortified with it, spirulina, and nutritional yeast. Trust me when I say that the “where do you get your protein” myth is just that: a myth. There is protein in literally fucking everything and you will never be protein deficient unless you are actually starving. Despite what some people might tell you, being vegan by itself is NOT necessarily the “most healthy” way of eating. There’s vegan junk food, and there’s vegan healthy food. There’s non vegan junk food, and there’s non vegan healthy food. Just because something is vegan does not mean that it doesn’t contain a bunch of weird unpronounceable chemicals in the ingredients.
For makeup, the cheapest brand out there happens to be completely vegan and cruelty free. (By the way, those two terms are not synonymous.) E.L.F. is a very affordable and good quality makeup brand that you can find in most stores like Target. Things like a container of liquid eyeliner will be as cheap as $1 and it’s good quality in my opinion. They regularly have huge sales as well. I wish I could remember the exact numbers but I once got an entire eyeshadow palette for $12 or less and because I spent a certain amount they gave me ANOTHER entire palette for FREE. I walked out with over 200 eyeshadow colors for less than $15. So yeah it’s fuckin lit~~~ For other brands just google “list of vegan cosmetics” to see what the most updated list of cruelty free and vegan brands are. Also etsy is a great source for handmade vegan cosmetics! You can message me for some good etsy stores or other indie makeup brands that sell cool stuff like liquid lipsticks. Tip: You will have a much harder time finding brands that are completely vegan. I find that if you find a brand that is certified cruelty free, and then just look up which of their products are vegan, you should be set. No need to worry about “giving your money to a brand that isn’t all vegan” as you do that every time you go grocery shopping or buy clothes!
For vegan music……just kidding. What the fuck.
While veganism does have a dietary aspect, it is not just changing what you eat. It includes not exploiting animals in any way. This means not wearing things like leather, fur, wool, etc. For clothes, I love to save tons of money by going to second hand stores. Not only is it cheap, but it is great for the environment as well. Also you will find that buying synthetic materials instead of animal-sourced materials will cost you significantly less (i.e. faux leather costs much less than real leather).
Instead of buying a “purebred” animal for hundreds or sometimes even thousands of dollars, choose to adopt an animal from one of the countless overcrowded shelters near you. There is usually just an adoption fee that is a fraction of what an animal from a breeder or pet store would cost you. This is even relevant when it comes to animals like mice and lizards. Here’s a great website to help you find your new rescued pal.
Please, please don’t ever hesitate to inbox me with any questions as I am always willing to help.
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