Standing out at the Vegan Festival Adelaide
On the weekend of 7-8 December, Doctors For Nutrition hosted a stall at the world-renowned Vegan Festival Adelaide.
The Vegan Festival is a highlight for the Adelaide vegan community and won the Community Event of the Year at the Citizen of the Year Award Winners 2022 held by the City of Adelaide. The festival attracts a large number of people who eat a standard Australian diet. Historical data collected by organisers indicates around a third of festival goers are either curious about veganism or attending to support a friend. The festival also hosts many people who are vegan for ethical and environmental reasons and may not be aware of the many health benefits of eating a whole food plant-based diet. The diversity of this demographic creates fertile ground for conversations, and the amazing Doctors For Nutrition volunteers took full advantage of this.
Over the course of the weekend, volunteers handed out 367 physical resources, documented 254 conversations, signed up 9 new members, and gained 40 new subscribers. This is a fantastic outcome, and demonstrates the growing interest in eating a plant-based diet for optimal health.
A whole food plant-based diet has completely changed my life.
Conversations at the stall indicated that many people had either not heard of Doctors For Nutrition prior to the festival or had read about the organisation for the first time on the Vegan Festival website. This feedback emphasizes the importance of Doctors For Nutrition having a presence at events not solely focused on plant based nutrition and its benefits, and the impact of using event platforms to showcase the organisation’s work.
Dr Heleen Haijema, Co-founder and Chair of the Board, and Rebecca Stonor, CEO were also in attendance helping to run the stall and conduct informative and engaging cooking demonstrations and talks. These attracted particular attention, with attendees heading straight to the stall for further information after hearing Heleen and Rebecca speak.
Over the weekend, many inspiring conversations were conducted, with one visitor telling volunteers that eating a whole food plant-based diet had completely changed their life. Others commented how amazing it was to see a stall representing an organisation like Doctors For Nutrition at the Vegan Festival.
Doctors For Nutrition will engage with new members and subscribers in the coming weeks to provide additional information and resources.
Doctors For Nutrition also won Best Stall of the festival, with festival organisers drawing attention to the consistent busyness over the weekend, and the team’s dedication to sharing evidence-based information about plant-based nutrition. It was an incredibly successful weekend, leaving volunteers and key staff feeling inspired and energised. Many thanks to all who assisted with the stall, talks, and demonstrations, and we look forward to many more crucial conversations at future events.
