STL VegMonth 2026: Try Vegan in St. Louis This November
November 1–30, 2026 · Free 30-day vegan challenge · 10+ events · St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, this November is yours.
STL VegMonth is a free, monthlong invitation to try vegan with an entire city behind you. From November 1 through November 30, 2026, we'll show you where to eat, what to cook, why it matters, and where to find the people making the same change.
Held during World Vegan Month, it's the most ambitious campaign Project Animal Freedom has ever run, with one number at its center: 2,056 people signing up to try vegan, with St. Louis leading the way. Why 2,056? Because every new vegan brings us closer to a fully vegan Midwest by 2056.
Free. Takes about 15 seconds. Unsubscribe anytime. Organized by Project Animal Freedom, a St. Louis 501(c)(3) nonprofit, through VeganSTL.com.
STL VegMonth at a Glance
What: A free 30-day challenge to try vegan, plus a month of events
When: November 1–30, 2026 (kickoff class October 29)
Where: Across the St. Louis metro, plus online classes you can join from anywhere
Who: Anyone curious about trying vegan. No experience required.
The challenge: The Gateway to Compassion Challenge
Events: 10+ dinners, potlucks, classes, a sanctuary festival, a march, and more
Goal: 2,056 sign-ups, and as many as possible still vegan on December 1
Cost: Free to take the challenge
Organized by: Project Animal Freedom through VeganSTL.com
Already vegan? Bring someone with you. One friend, family member, coworker, or neighbor may be all it takes to change a life, and to spare many others.
What Is STL VegMonth?
STL VegMonth is our citywide November campaign inviting everyone across the St. Louis region to try vegan for 30 days: one month to experiment with your meals, your habits, and maybe your assumptions, with local support instead of figuring it all out alone.
2026 is the inaugural STL VegMonth, and it's our most ambitious try-vegan campaign yet.
Why November? Every November, vegans around the world celebrate World Vegan Month. The Vegan Society was founded in November 1944, when its founders coined the word "vegan." Fifty years later, the society's Louise Wallis created World Vegan Day on November 1, 1994, to mark the anniversary, and the celebration has since grown into a full month. This November, St. Louis is making the month its own.
There are three ways to take part:
Take the challenge. Sign up for the free Gateway to Compassion Challenge and try vegan for 30 days.
Show up. Join 10+ events across the metro and online.
Help it grow. Bring a friend, volunteer, share the campaign, or fund the outreach.
You don't need to know everything about veganism before you begin. You just need to begin.
Take the Gateway to Compassion Challenge (It's Free)
The Gateway to Compassion Challenge is the heart of STL VegMonth: 30 days to try eating vegan with St. Louis-specific resources and a real community around you.
When you sign up, we'll connect you with everything that makes trying vegan easier:
St. Louis vegan restaurant and food guides
Beginner-friendly tips for eating out, cooking, and grocery shopping
The STL VegMonth events calendar and four online classes
Local groups, meetups, and community spaces where you can ask questions and meet people
Ongoing VeganSTL resources for staying vegan after November ends
Is the challenge for me?
Probably. It's especially for you if you:
have never tried vegan and want a low-pressure place to start
eat meat but are curious about plant-based food
are vegetarian or "mostly plant-based" and ready to close the remaining gaps
tried before, slipped, and want another go with real support this time
are already vegan and want to do the challenge alongside someone you care about
You don't have to arrive perfect. Try, learn, ask questions, find the meals you love, and if something goes wrong, figure out why and keep going. Thirty days is long enough to find out what vegan living actually feels like, and short enough to start today.
Why Try Vegan for a Month?
For us, veganism begins with animals.
In 2022, 83 billion land animals were slaughtered for meat worldwide, according to Food and Agriculture Organization data compiled by Our World in Data, and that total leaves out fishes and many other deaths across the food system. Changing what we eat is one direct way ordinary people can withdraw support from that system every single day.
But the case doesn't stop there.
For animals
Veganism seeks to exclude, as far as possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of and cruelty to animals. Choosing beans instead of beef or oat milk instead of dairy can feel small at the level of one meal. Repeated across days, years, and communities, those choices become markets, institutions, and eventually culture.
For the planet
Animal foods, especially meat and dairy, tend to require more land and produce more greenhouse gas than plant foods. A 2023 study in Nature Food comparing the real diets of more than 55,000 people found that vegan diets carried roughly one-quarter of the greenhouse gas emissions and land use of high-meat diets.
For your health
A vegan label doesn't automatically make a diet healthy; French fries are vegan, too. But a well-planned vegan diet is built from the very foods heart-healthy eating patterns recommend: vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, nuts, and seeds. The American Heart Association reports that eating less meat lowers the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes, while warning that highly processed meat substitutes don't count as health food.
If you stay vegan past November, learn the nutrition basics rather than leaving them to chance. Vitamin B12 is the big one: the National Institutes of Health notes that plant foods don't contain B12 unless they're fortified, and that people who eat little or no animal food may not get enough from their diets. Make a reliable source of B12, through fortified foods or a supplement, part of your routine.
Want the full evidence instead of the elevator pitch? Read our complete case for veganism.
Your STL VegMonth Starter Kit: How to Go Vegan in St. Louis
The easiest vegan challenge is the one built around food you actually want to eat, and St. Louis has far more of it than most people realize.
Find vegan food in St. Louis
Start with the STL Vegan Guide, our locally maintained directory and map of vegan food across St. Louis City, St. Louis County, St. Charles County, and the Metro East. It currently lists 17 fully vegan restaurants, bakeries, and food businesses, plus vegetarian spots and restaurants with substantial vegan menus.
Then eat your way through:
The best vegan pizza in St. Louis, because pizza is how most people find out vegan food is good
Vegan desserts in St. Louis: bakeries, ice cream, cookies, cakes, and where to get them
Black-owned vegan restaurants and caterers in St. Louis: the people and businesses shaping the city's vegan food scene
Harvest Shreds, our favorite St. Louis-made vegan meat, plus where to buy it and how to cook it
Beginner tip: don't reinvent every meal on November 1. Veganize the food you already love: tacos, pasta, burgers, chili, curry, pizza, stir-fry, sandwiches, breakfast burritos. Veganism gets a lot easier when it stops feeling like a cuisine and starts feeling like your food.
Learn the basics
Start Here: the fastest introduction to VeganSTL.com
Why Veganism?: the full case, for animals, the planet, and your health
Why Animal Rights?: the movement behind the meals, and how St. Louis fits in
Additional resources for going vegan and staying vegan
Find your people
Food gets you through the door. Community keeps it open.
Vegan groups in St. Louis: Facebook groups, Meetup, and our in-person community circles
STL Vegan Market: the easiest place to eat, shop, and meet the local vegan community in one afternoon
The St. Louis vegan events calendar, with 70+ events on track for 2026
Veganism gets easier the moment the question changes from "What am I giving up?" to "What am I joining?"
Vegan Events in St. Louis During STL VegMonth 2026
STL VegMonth isn't meant to happen alone behind a screen. Throughout late October and November, we're taking the challenge into restaurants, homes, Zoom rooms, and the streets of St. Louis. Most events are free, and every one of them welcomes you whether you're vegan, veg-curious, or simply love good food.
Event details below are current as of September 3, 2026. Dates, venues, and ticketing can change, so check the individual listing before heading out.
Thursday, Oct. 29 · Veganism 101 + Dominion Screening
7–10 p.m. · Online via Zoom
Start before November even begins: an introduction to veganism, followed by a screening of "Dominion," the 2018 documentary that uses drone and hidden-camera footage to show how animals are used across major industries.
See event updates → [EVENT URL]
Saturday, Oct. 31 · Candles of Compassion: A Vigil for the Animals
6–8 p.m. · Central West End
VegMonth Eve: a candlelight vigil for animals at the edge of St. Louis' legendary Halloween street party.
Sunday, Nov. 1 · Vegan Hip-Hop Party
6–10 p.m. · Adina's Vegan Cuisine
Celebrate World Vegan Day with vegan eats, hip-hop, and community at Adina's Vegan Cuisine, the vegan soul food restaurant on Page Avenue. Dreamed up by the Red Black & Vegan Podcast.
See event updates → [EVENT URL]
Thursday, Nov. 5 · Vegan Living 101
7–9 p.m. · Online via Zoom
The how: a beginner-focused class on putting veganism into practice, from groceries to eating out.
See event updates → [EVENT URL]
Sunday, Nov. 8 · Vegan Day @ Randy's Rescue Ranch
12–3 p.m. · O'Fallon, Illinois
Our first-ever fall festival at a 20-acre sanctuary: local vegan vendors, plus up-close visits with rescued pigs, cows, horses, and more.
Tuesday, Nov. 10 · Vegan Thanksgiving Potluck
7–9 p.m. · Lafayette Square Inn
Bring a vegan dish and join our monthly Plant Lovers Potluck for a homemade, 100%-vegan Thanksgiving celebration. Free.
Thursday, Nov. 12 · Vegan STL 101
7–9 p.m. · Online via Zoom
The where: a guided tour of St. Louis' vegan scene, from restaurants and markets to groups and events.
See event updates → [EVENT URL]
Friday, Nov. 13 · Vegan Karaoke Night
Hidden Gem STL
Sing badly, sing brilliantly, cheer for everyone. Either way, spend Friday night with the vegan community.
See event updates → [EVENT URL]
Wednesday, Nov. 18 · The Uncaged Page: "Advocate for Animals!"
6–8 p.m. · Adina's Vegan Cuisine
Our vegan book club discusses "Advocate for Animals!," the abolitionist vegan handbook by Gary L. Francione and Anna Charlton. Every month's book stands on its own, so newcomers are always welcome.
See event updates → [EVENT URL]
Thursday, Nov. 19 · Vegan Activism 101
7–9 p.m. · Online via Zoom
The what next: how to move from personal change to public change, with the tools that fit your skills and your schedule.
See event updates → [EVENT URL]
Saturday, Nov. 21 · Vegan Gratitude Day
12–2 p.m. · Adina's Vegan Cuisine
Share a meal and help us thank the donors, volunteers, and neighbors who keep St. Louis' animal rights movement moving.
Monday, Nov. 23 · Vegan Thanksgiving Feast + Food Drive
6–9 p.m. · Adina's Vegan Cuisine
Our third annual 100%-vegan holiday dinner, from "turkey" roast to apple-peach cobbler, doubling as the drop-off for our Vegan Thanksgiving Food Drive. Bring canned foods, dry staples, and bottled drinks for the Thomas Dunn Learning Center food pantry.
Feast details → · Food drive details →
Saturday, Nov. 28 · March to End Animal Testing
1–3 p.m. · St. Louis
Close out STL VegMonth by marching against animal testing and for the humane, human-relevant science that can replace it.
See event updates → [EVENT URL]
More events may be added as November approaches. See every upcoming vegan event in St. Louis →
Four Online Classes: From Veganism 101 to Vegan Activism 101
Can't make it across town? Every Thursday at 7 p.m. on Zoom, STL VegMonth comes to you.
Oct. 29, 7–10 p.m.: Veganism 101 + Dominion Screening (the why)
Nov. 5, 7–9 p.m.: Vegan Living 101 (the how)
Nov. 12, 7–9 p.m.: Vegan STL 101 (the where)
Nov. 19, 7–9 p.m.: Vegan Activism 101 (the what next)
We take Thanksgiving week off. Full descriptions and registration details will be added to the events calendar as each class page goes live.
Our Goals for STL VegMonth 2026, and How We'll Measure Them
Nonprofit campaigns are stronger when their goals are public, so here are ours:
1,000,000+ campaign views
250,000+ in estimated local reach
2,056 Gateway to Compassion Challenge sign-ups
10+ STL VegMonth events
$14,000 invested in outreach and audience growth
Why 2,056? Project Animal Freedom's long-term goal is a fully vegan Midwest by 2056. The number ties one month of work to the future we're trying to build: 2,056 people willing to give vegan living a serious try.
What “2,056” means
We want to be precise. A challenge sign-up is a sign-up, not proof that someone became a lifelong vegan overnight. So our public participation metric is the number of people who sign up for the Gateway to Compassion Challenge. If follow-up surveys tell us how many participants stay vegan or cut back on animal products, we'll report those results separately.
Good advocacy should be ambitious enough to change the world and careful enough to measure what actually changed.
Why we think the goal is achievable
In January 2026, 768 people signed up for our Veganuary challenge. In 2025, by our own reporting, we organized 56 events in St. Louis and generated an estimated 860,000 in local reach through our campaigns and communications.
STL VegMonth builds on that infrastructure rather than starting from zero: an established events program, a growing local audience, VeganSTL's food and community resources, STL Vegan Market, relationships with local vegan businesses, and a year-round volunteer network.
After the campaign, we'll report what happened, the wins, the misses, and the lessons, on our News page.
Fund STL VegMonth: About $7 Helps One Person Try Vegan
STL VegMonth has a campaign budget of $14,000. Divide that by 2,056 and it comes to about $7 for every person we aim to bring into the challenge.
That's a planning ratio, not a promise that $7 automatically creates a permanent vegan. But it shows how far a small gift travels when it's combined with digital outreach, local media, a month of events, and a community ready to welcome newcomers. That's the leverage this campaign is built to create.
Where the $14,000 goes
$5,000 to promote the Gateway to Compassion Challenge on social media
$4,500 for a sponsored St. Louis Magazine feature (SLM Partner Studio) on St. Louis' vegan community and the digital campaign around it
$1,500 for two sponsored KMOV articles, one at the start of the campaign and one toward the end
$3,000 to grow the Facebook and Instagram audiences of STL Vegan Market, Project Animal Freedom - St. Louis, MO, and VeganSTL
To direct your gift to the campaign, choose "STL VegMonth" under "Apply My Donation To." Project Animal Freedom is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN 83-3007847), so your donation is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Prefer another way to give? Visit our donate page.
Your gift funds more than a month of outreach. Every person who joins our list, attends an event, discovers a local vegan business, volunteers, or brings a friend strengthens the infrastructure we'll use again and again.
Who’s Behind STL VegMonth?
STL VegMonth is organized by Project Animal Freedom through VeganSTL.com.
Project Animal Freedom is a St. Louis-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2018 with one long-term goal: a fully vegan Midwest by 2056. We work toward it through what we call creative grassroots vegan community building, because people don't change just because they got the right fact sheet.
They change because they ate something unforgettable. Because someone answered their question without humiliating them. Because they walked into a room where they knew nobody and left with three friends. Because an abstract moral problem became an animal with a face and a name.
VeganSTL.com is our St. Louis hub for vegan food, events, education, and community. STL Vegan Market connects St. Louisans with vegan food and businesses. And our St. Louis chapter organizes events all year long, from potlucks, book clubs, and restaurant meetups to marches, classes, markets, and 100%-vegan holiday feasts. We put our money where our mouths are, too: over $10,000 a year in vegan catering, spent deliberately with small local vegan businesses.
Give someone a fact and you may change a mind. Give someone good food, useful tools, welcoming spaces, and a community that expects them back, and you have a chance to change a life. From community, all else follows.
Learn more about VeganSTL and Project Animal Freedom →
Why Trust VeganSTL?
VeganSTL isn't a national directory scraping St. Louis from a distance. We live here. Project Animal Freedom organizes most of the events on this page, works directly with local vegan businesses, maintains the STL Vegan Guide, and updates VeganSTL.com throughout the year as restaurants open, close, move, and change menus.
For this page specifically:
Restaurant counts come from our locally maintained STL Vegan Guide.
Event information is checked against our live events calendar.
World Vegan Month history is sourced to The Vegan Society; global animal figures to FAO data via Our World in Data; environmental and health claims to peer-reviewed research and major health authorities, all linked above.
Reach figures are our own reporting or projections, and are labeled that way.
Goals are labeled as goals, not outcomes, and sign-ups are never presented as proof of permanent conversion.
This page is maintained by Kyle Luzynski, founder and executive director of Project Animal Freedom, and will be updated as STL VegMonth develops. See our About page and editorial standards for how we verify information and how to report a correction.
How to Help STL VegMonth
Take the challenge, then bring someone. The most important thing you can do is try. The second most important is asking one person to try with you: a friend, your partner, your parents, your office, your group chat.
Share it. Send someone this page, post your meals, share an event, tell people what surprised you, and tag VeganSTL or Project Animal Freedom with #STLVegMonth so we can cheer you on.
Volunteer. STL VegMonth needs people behind it, from event support and outreach to communications and community building. Apply to volunteer with Project Animal Freedom.
Donate.Fund STL VegMonth and help us reach 2,056.
Stay connected after November. STL VegMonth lasts 30 days. The St. Louis vegan community doesn't. Join our mailing list for local food finds, events, and news all year.
Restaurants and St. Louis businesses: want to offer an STL VegMonth special, host an event, or sponsor the campaign? Email info@veganstl.com. A citywide vegan challenge is better when the city helps build it.
STL VegMonth FAQ
What is STL VegMonth?
STL VegMonth is a free November campaign inviting people across the St. Louis region to try vegan for 30 days. It combines the Gateway to Compassion Challenge with local vegan food guides, online classes, community support, and 10+ events throughout the St. Louis area. It's organized by Project Animal Freedom through VeganSTL.com, and 2026 is the first edition.
When is STL VegMonth 2026?
November 1 through November 30, 2026, during World Vegan Month. Programming begins October 29 with Veganism 101 and a "Dominion" screening, and the closing event is the March to End Animal Testing on November 28.
Is STL VegMonth free?
The Gateway to Compassion Challenge is completely free. Event pricing varies: most STL VegMonth events are free, and some require tickets, a purchase, or registration. Check each event listing before you go.
Do I have to already be vegan?
No. STL VegMonth is built for people who aren't vegan yet. Curious, skeptical, vegetarian, flexitarian, plant-based, or someone who has never knowingly ordered tofu: come as you are.
Do I have to be perfect for all 30 days?
That's the challenge, but perfection isn't the price of admission. If you slip, figure out what happened and keep going. The month isn't there to prove you already know how to be vegan. It's there to give you enough time and support to learn. The only way to fail STL VegMonth is not to try.
What can I actually eat as a vegan in St. Louis?
A lot. St. Louis has fully vegan restaurants serving soul food, burgers, Indian food, sandwiches, baked goods, and more, plus vegetarian and vegan-friendly spots for everything from pizza to brunch. Start with the STL Vegan Guide for restaurants, maps, and menus.
Is STL VegMonth the same as World Vegan Month?
STL VegMonth happens during World Vegan Month, but they aren't the same campaign. World Vegan Month is the international November observance that grew out of World Vegan Day, first celebrated by The Vegan Society in 1994. STL VegMonth is Project Animal Freedom's local St. Louis campaign built around that month.
Can I take part if I don't live in St. Louis?
Yes. The campaign is built around St. Louis, but the online classes and VeganSTL's resources work anywhere. If you're elsewhere in the Midwest, you're especially welcome: our long-term mission stretches well beyond St. Louis.
How is STL VegMonth different from Veganuary?
Same local organizers, different campaign. St. Louis Veganuary is our local edition of the global January challenge, and 768 people signed up in January 2026. STL VegMonth is our own November campaign, tied to World Vegan Month and our goal of a fully vegan Midwest by 2056. There's no reason to choose. Do both.
How are you counting the goal of 2,056?
Our public participation metric is Gateway to Compassion Challenge sign-ups. We don't assume that everyone who signs up instantly becomes a permanent vegan. If post-campaign surveys give us reliable information about longer-term changes, we'll report those separately.
Where does my STL VegMonth donation go?
Straight into the campaign: $5,000 for Gateway to Compassion Challenge promotion, $4,500 for a sponsored St. Louis Magazine feature and its digital campaign, $1,500 for two sponsored KMOV articles, and $3,000 to grow our local social media audiences, for a total budget of $14,000. Project Animal Freedom is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, so your gift is tax-deductible. Fund STL VegMonth here, and choose "STL VegMonth" under "Apply My Donation To."
Ready to Try Vegan This November?
You don't have to promise us the rest of your life. Give us November.
Give yourself 30 days to eat differently, learn something new, meet people you'd never otherwise meet, and look at animals, and maybe yourself, a little differently. We'll show you where to eat. We'll give you somewhere to go. We'll introduce you to people who've already made the journey. And if November 30 comes and you don't want to go back? We'll still be here on December 1.
Questions? Email info@veganstl.com or call 314-740-0436.
Let's veganize St. Louis, one heart, one mind, one stomach at a time. Until every animal is free.
STL VegMonth is organized by Project Animal Freedom through VeganSTL.com and maintained by Kyle Luzynski, founder and executive director of Project Animal Freedom. Last updated September 3, 2026. See our editorial standards.