My name is Andrew, I’m a brand new employee at Cafe Gratitude’s central office, and I want to share some inspiration with you. What inspires me is compassionate food--food that’s kind to the soil it’s planted in, the people who prepare it, and the hungry bodies that make it part of them. This inspiration has lead me to work with Cafe Gratitude, and also with another organization re-imagining good food, and one I’ll talk about today: the Cooperative Food Empowerment Directive, or CoFED, which empowers college students to launch food cooperatives.

What both these organizations have in common is that they empower people to transform their lives, with compassionate food as a catalyst. We like to call the Cafe a school of transformation disguised as a restaurant, because our core mission isn’t to sell you food - our aim is to give you tools to shape your life how you want it to be. Part of actively taking control of your life involves loving yourself, and a key part of loving yourself is feeding yourself really awesome food. So when you decide that you’re worthy of nourishing your body, mind and soul with meals that are kind to the Earth and her animal and human inhabitants - meals that make you feel and function great - you’re taking the first step on the journey of self-transformation.

The World Vegetarian Festival comes to San Francisco, October 1-2, 2011!

What better place for health-conscious, compassionate and animal-loving people from across the world to converge, than San Francisco? For twelve years now, the San Francisco Vegetarian Society has thrown its World Veg Festival, which celebrates vegetarianism as a means to become healthy, improve animal welfare and protect the natural environment. Held in the County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park, the fest invites anyone--vegetarian, vegan or neither--to come out for the weekend to experience delicious meat-free meals, learn to prepare heart-healthy dishes, explore the ethical dimensions of a vegetarian diet, and socialize. There will be guest speakers, such as veggie luminaries Colin Campbell and John Robbins, activities, vendors, and even speed dating! So however you want to approach or experience vegetarianism, or even if you want to get a taste of it for the first time, the World Veg Festival can offer you a fun and educational day in the city!

Date:        Saturday, Oct. 1 & Sunday, Oct. 2, 10am - 6pm
Location:    SF County Fair Building, 1199 9th Ave, San Francisco, California 94122
Tickets:     $8 at the door, or purchased through Eventbrite.
Phone:        (415) 831-5500
Website:    http://worldvegfestival.com/

Puppets with a Purpose is a new organization that empowers children and adults to make a positive impact on the world using the magic of their imagination along with easily found free materials. 

Step one is simple, come together and make puppets using recycled, repurposed and reusable materials. Then the second step is to sell the puppets (a healthy joyful alternative to a bake sale) or stage a puppet performance and bring joy and laughter into your community. You can even create a large-scale sock puppet flash mob if you choose, the possibilities are endless.  Now step three is simple, just donate any proceeds to the non-profit organization of your choice, whether it is disaster relief, nutritional programs or books and supplies for children in need.

What started out as a silly idea to raise funds for the rising homeless population in San Francisco, has recently transformed into an empowering and joy filled new way for communities to raise capital any where they are inspired to give.