Vegan Brands Throw Weekly Fundraiser in Los Angeles to Support Immigrant Rights

Vegan brands Leche, Dear Mama, and La Vuena Vida have created all-Latinx vegan event Veganos en East Los in Los Angeles. The monthly community vegan market recently expanded to a weekly fundraiser in an effort to help underserved communities in East LA. The ongoing fundraiser aims to donate a portion of all sales to immigrant-rights organizations that provide legal services as well as community nonprofits that provide education, job skills, and childcare to those in need within the community. “It was important to not take the funds from the East LA/Boyle Heights community elsewhere,” Leche co-founder Mayra Aceves told VegNews. “We want the funds to remain there and be used to better the lives of the community that is supporting us. At first, we were just raising funds for the Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project but we’ve since realized that there are many Boyle Heights nonprofits in need of community involvement and funds.” The event also aims to provide healthy plant-based versions of traditional Latinx dishes, covering Mexican, Colombian, Ecuadorian, Salvadorean, and Argentinean cultures. Each week the event features between 12 and 25 vendors, most or all of whom are from East LA themselves, including businesses such as Chicana Vegana, Mama’s International Tamales, Mama Chingona Vegana, All Vegan Franks, Cruelty Free Bakery, and The Little Sweet Place.