Welcome to Soy Happy!

Soy Happy is proud to endorse our Affiliate Manufacturers. We liaison with these companies when we facilitate menu options for interested vendors and event organizers. We also help them increase consumer awareness and sales by utilizing our grass roots support base and offering promotional support for new products or accounts. (Please refer to our Affiliate page for more information.)

SH Affiliate Lightlife Foods is introducing their Smart Dog to San Diego Padres fans at Petco Park this year. Their soy dog is available in numerous stands throughout the stadium and is generating wonderful attention too. The front page section of the SF Chronicle on April 7 had a chart that compared the new Petco Park with their home stadium, SBC Park. Check out the Most Exotic thing on a Bun! (Note that SF's SBC Park also offers veggie dogs...in two locations this year too).

VENDORS

Want to offer alternative menu options? Read our page directed to Interested Vendors.

Here is a sample list of vendors who have contacted Soy Happy, asking for liaison services and consultation on vegetarian menu options for their business:

A restaurant in Philadelphia is converting all their cheeses to non-dairy alternatives
A soccer arena on the east coast is sampling veggie dogs for the upcoming season
A minor league ballpark on the west coast is sampling veggie dogs and burgers for immediate inclusion
A major movie chain with outlets all over the country is considering veggie dogs and other prospects
A catering company on the west coast has asked for distributor contacts for vegetarian menu options
A shop and eatery in a popular tourist spot in CA is looking at a variety of vegetarian meat substitutes and condiment options

This list provides just a taste of what is out there! (Pun intended). In addition, SH continues to liaison and consult with Major League baseball stadiums. We will announce new veggie vendors in future alerts and newsletters after new vegetarian items have been successfuly added to their menus.

EVENTS

Soy Happy has facilitated food donations from our Affiliate, Lightlife Foods, for the following events. Please consider supporting these non-profit endeavors by attending, volunteering or donating!

The Princess Project (Hundreds of professionals volunteer to help thousands of low income teens by providing them with free prom dresses) San Francisco, CA: March 27 and April 3

Habitat for Humanity's Hollywood Blitz (Building homes for low income families. This blitz is with the help of many VIPs in the film business). Los Angeles and surrounding areas, CA: March 25-June 5

Placer SPCA Adopt-a-thon (Helping raise awareness of homeless animals in need of loving homes.) Roseville, CA: May 1-2.

Playing Ball with the Majors (and minors 2004

Soy Happy is mostly known for opening up the door to veggie dogs in Major League Baseball stadiums. Veggie dogs are now entering their fourth year in MLB stadiums, and doing so with great fanfare! San Diego's new Petco Park is offering Smart Dogs at multiple stands throughout the stadium this year. Milwaukee's Miller Park, San Francisco's SBC Park and Chicago's U.S. Cellular Field have added stand locations for veggie dogs this year, as well. Soy Happy has received queries and interest from more ballparks (minors among them) regarding veggie dog possibilities for their menus and continues to consult with the concession managers. Read our recent press release about the rise in demand for soy dogs in America's ballparks in 2004.

A recent press release issued on behalf of Sportservice, a large foodservice concession company that caters to many of America's Major League ballparks, started this way...

"BUFFALO, N.Y., April 2 /PRNewswire/ -- As baseball fans across the nation file into their seats next week, America's ballpark concessionaires plan to load their plates with much more than hot dogs, peanuts and nachos to meet the changing tastes of today's fans.
From new low-carbohydrate menu items and soy dogs to Macedonian lamb rack and made-from-scratch clam chowder, America's oldest ballpark concessionaire, Sportservice, is offering high-protein and healthy alternatives in addition to its traditional ballpark fare."

Clearly, concessionaires now understand the importance and the promise of adding vegetarian alternative fare to their menus!

For the latest list of 'veggie dog ballparks" and veg menu items for all MLB stadiums, check out our Venue Reference Guide. (Please be sure to notify us with any changes or updates, as it is often the local fans that keep us informed.)

Healthy school lunch options on the way

Great news regarding healthy options in our schools!

Following on the heels of the passage of ACR16 in California last year, New York's Coalition for Healthy School Lunches is working to have a similar resolution passed by the state of New York! The resolution asks for a daily plant-based option on the school lunch menu. If you would like to support the effort in NY, please contact the NYCHSL coordinator, Amie Hamlin at amie@healthylunches.org.
Soy Happy is working with CHOICE (Consumers for Healthier Options in Childrens' Education) on the implementation of plant-based menu entrees in California's schools. Please be sure to check out CHOICE's web site for resources and information. If you would like to receive alerts and lend your support to the effort, not just in CA, but nationwide, contact CHOICE: info@choiceusa.net.
The House Education and Workforce Committee passed the Child Nutrition and Improvement and Integrity Act on March 23, 2004. This act makes more students eligible for school nutrition programs, and allows schools the option of offering soy milk to students upon parental request. (Until now, a doctor's order was necessary.)

Soy Happy at the Soyfoods Summit

Soy Happy director Johanna McCloy was an invited speaker at the Soyfoods Summit ins San Diego in February. She addressed the issue of consumer activism; the benefits of grassroots support for generating positive P.R.; Soy Happy's history with MLB stadiums; and the follow up effort to ACR16 (moving to implement plant-based school lunch options in CA schools).

"This gathering was particularly significant for the soyfoods industry, because of the introduction of some new technologies and important updates on soy and health, " says Peter Golbitz, President of Soyatech, and one of the Summit Chairs.

The Soyfoods Summit targets Senior Executives involved in soy or interested in expanding into the market, as well as those involved in researching the health benefits and applications of soy. Among attendees were food technologists, marketing directors, CEO's and soy experts from all over the world.

Soy Happy in the Media

Soy Happy is highlighted as a featured segment of a one-minute radio segment about the environment called Planet Check. This show is now syndicated and has been added to the line up on the new Air America radio program roster. The San Francisco Bay Guardian weekly and the San Francisco Chronicle highlighted the program this month. (Planet Check is produced and hosted by local Alice radio DJ, Mo Mellady). Check out the Planet Check demo online!

Coming Up:

Summer, 2004: Soy Happy has been a primary consultant as well as interview subject for a 29-minute radio segment about meat alternatives. As soon as information about air dates and stations is available, we will post it here and send alerts to subscribers!

Winter 2004: The Vegetarian Journal, a magazine published by the Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG), will feature an article written by Johanna about the logistics of getting vegetarian alternatives into foodservice accounts and how consumers can help.

Erik Marcus has included an essay by Johanna in his next book. Her essay is directed to interested consumers and informs them on the best ways to effect change in foodservice venues. The book is scheduled for publication later this year and will follow his best selling "Vegan: The Ethics of Eating". When it is available, we will post the information here!

If you have not yet seen the vegtv.com segment (8 minutes using Real Player) about Soy Happy online, check it out! It is hosted by Celebrity Justice's Jane Velez-Mitchell and many celebrities express their support for SH on this video. (Note that many new ballparks have added veggie dogs since this was produced in 2001, so keep checking our site for the latest updates).

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