Grassroots Vegan Activism That Works: Inside Vegan Outreach’s Vegan Chef Challenge

In this episode of Our Hen House, Mariann and Jasmin sit down with Alex Bury, Vice President of Development at Vegan Outreach, and Stacy Shepanek, Director of Communications at Vegan Outreach and co-lead of Knox Vegan, to talk about grassroots vegan activism that works. They dig into Vegan Outreach’s massive leafleting legacy (22 million booklets and counting), their 10 Weeks to Vegan online program with 1.8 million signups across 18 countries, and the star of the show — the Vegan Chef Challenge, a month-long campaign that gets local restaurants to create brand-new vegan menu items in cities where plant-based options are scarce. Along the way, they discuss why grassroots outreach remains essential in a movement that has shifted toward corporate advocacy, how the Chef Challenge transforms dining scenes in places like Anchorage and Knoxville, the one-day MacDown mac and cheese competitions, and how volunteers can bring the Vegan Chef Challenge to their own communities.

• How the Vegan Chef Challenge works: 10–30 local restaurants create new vegan specials — typically an appetizer, entrée, and dessert — for a month, with customers voting for their favorites. The majority of participating restaurants had zero vegan options before, and many keep vegan dishes on the menu year-round.
• Grassroots vegan activism still matters: Alex and Stacy make the case that while corporate advocacy and legislative work have their place, person-to-person outreach — from college leafleting to restaurant challenges — is an irreplaceable way to create lasting change for animals.
• Global reach with local flavor: Vegan Outreach’s 10 Weeks to Vegan program operates in 18 countries with culturally adapted recipes and resources, and their India team has helped replace over a million pounds of meat with plant-based options through the Green Tuesday initiative.
• Getting involved: Volunteers can bring a Vegan Chef Challenge or MacDown to their own city. Visit veganchefchallenge.org to fill out an interest form, or email info@veganoutreach.org to explore volunteer opportunities ranging from leafleting to organizing a full month-long restaurant challenge.
• Community building beyond the food: The Vegan Chef Challenge doesn’t just create vegan options — it creates community. From Anchorage’s growing network of vegan women to Knoxville’s meetup culture, the challenge has become a catalyst for lasting local connections that help new vegans stay vegan.

ABOUT OUR GUESTS

Alex Bury (she/her) has been a professional fundraiser for animal rights and animal welfare nonprofits for over 20 years. Before that, she was a CIA-trained professional chef who ran a vegan restaurant in Northern California. She shifted her career to more direct ways of supporting the movement against animal suffering, raising the funds activists need to do their work, and has worked for PETA, the PETA Foundation, HSUS (now A Humane World), and her current organization, Vegan Outreach. She’s a member of Women Funders in Animal Rights and Indivisible, and a proud board member for People & Pets Project, Open Sanctuary Project, and Beyond Population. Alex lives and works remotely in Anchorage, Alaska. She and her dog Goldie love to hike, cross-country ski, and stay up too late reading science fiction.

Stacy Shepanek is Director of Communications at Vegan Outreach. She went vegan in 2012 and became a community organizer in Charleston and Columbia, South Carolina. She joined Vegan Outreach in 2017, leafleting college campuses and doing graphic design, and she’s since organized three vegan Mac Downs. She’s been on the Knoxville Vegan Chef Challenge organizing team since its first year and co-runs Knox Vegan, sharing local vegan food finds and organizing community events. Stacy believes in supporting local restaurants with strong vegan options, because the vegan in the group is often the one choosing where everyone eats, and one thoughtful menu item can bring a whole table of new diners through the door. She lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, with her partner and their rescue dog, Cookie, and loves hiking, cycling, climbing, and just about anything that gets her outside. She has worn many hats over the years before working for Vegan Outreach. She spent 10 years in Civil Engineering and 8 years as a professional potter before coming to Vegan Outreach.

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