We caught Mikey mid-chew!
Don’t let his face put you off – the food really was delicious.
Saturday the ninth of November was an auspicious day in Lincoln, as the Trinity United Reformed Church played host to the sixth annual Lincoln Veggie Fayre.
Organised by passionate vegan, Linda Wardale, the Veggie Fayre promised to be an exciting and interesting event for anyone with a love of good food, a love of fresh new ideas and, perhaps most importantly, a love of animals.
The doors flew open at eleven o’clock sharp on Saturday morning. We were greeted with a dazzling array of food stalls full of tasty vegan nibbles,vegan cooking demonstrations and fresh food being cooked up and served from the kitchen all day long.
The church’s first floor was bursting with craft stalls of varying types, some of which were covered with arrays of sparkly trinkets and some which were lavishly decorated – without a single animal suffering.
By lunchtime the church was heaving with people and the tables once full of vegan snacks were dwindling after the siege of hungry visitors.
Once the lunchtime surge of people had subsided, AltLinc sought out Linda Wardale herself to ask her about how the Veggie Fayre started back in 2008, how many people it typically attracts and why she, herself, changed to veganism.
The origin of the Fayre was certainly very interesting.
“It was some students from Lincoln University that actually started the first Vegan Fayre”, Linda, 55, explains. “Then about two years later we had a vote, because there was a few of us in the committee and a decision was made to change it to “Veggie Fayre” to make it more appealing to vegetarians and meat-eaters so it wasn’t totally exclusive.”
Linda told us that the Fayre typically attracts six to seven hundred people and that that figure is rising every year. The Veggie Fayre certainly seems to be having a positive impact on Lincoln, as Linda told us she’s had people “come back who’ve gone vegetarians following years”
Linda herself became vegan after being inspired by her son and daughter who decided that veganism was the way forward for them. She also became lactose intolerant following surgery, which helped consolidate her decision – “If I can’t have cheese, then that was it!” she recounts with a chuckle.sing every year. The Veggie Fayre certainly seems to be having a positive impact on Lincoln, as Linda told us that she’s had people “come back who have gone vegetarian in following years.”
A hot topic amongst nutritionists and dieticians is whether or not a vegan diet has any real health benefits. We talked with Linda about it, who confidently said, “I feel good. I’ve got more energy and more stamina than I’ve ever had in my entire life.”
The 2013 Veggie Fayre was a runaway success. As to whether a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle is the way forward, you’ll just have to find out for yourself.
Why not start with this recipe from Linda herself,
What do you think? Did you go or will you be eating vegetarian more? @alternativelincoln #AltVeggie