Veggies Catering Campaign
Veggies Catering Campaign is a workers’ co-operative based in Nottingham, England, providing vegan catering at protests, direct actions, community gatherings, and social justice events across the UK. It grew out of a group of animal rights activists in 1984, starting with a mobile stall selling veggieburgers outside a McDonald’s outlet in Nottingham — a deliberate act of ethical counter-programming. The co-operative formally incorporated in 1987. For four decades, its volunteers have cooked on the front lines of campaigns: peace marches, anti-corporate mobilisations, bookfairs, anarchist gatherings, vegan festivals, and community events of every scale.
From 1985, Veggies ran the Rainbow Centre in Nottingham city. When that space relocated and became the Sumac Centre in 2001, Veggies moved with it. The two remain closely linked, sharing an address on Gladstone Street in Forest Fields, though Veggies operates as a distinct legal entity with its own campaigns, networks, and outreach. In the 1990s, Veggies was one of the few UK organisations to reprint the “What’s Wrong with McDonald’s” leaflet distributed by London Greenpeace, which led to McDonald’s issuing a libel writ. The subsequent McLibel trial became one of the most significant public relations and legal battles in UK corporate history. Veggies continued distributing the leaflet.
The co-operative is 100% vegan, using fair trade, organic, and locally sourced ingredients where possible. Meals are priced to be affordable, and no one is turned away for having no money. Surplus revenue goes back into campaign work. Beyond catering events, Veggies maintains a contacts directory linking activist organisations across the UK, publishes materials on animal rights and social justice, and hosts the annual East Midlands Vegan Festival. In 2025, the collective catered the Total Liberation Gathering in Nottingham — a weekend of workshops connecting animal liberation with antifascism and trans solidarity. Regular Wednesday pop-up cafes and Sunday brunches at the Sumac Centre continue year-round.
The co-operative is a member of Radical Routes, a network of radical housing and workers’ co-operatives committed to social change. Decisions are made collectively, without managers or bosses.
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