Vegan ice-cream van giving out free ice-cream draws in crowds

Vegan charity Viva! is travelling the country this summer, encouraging the public to choose dairy-free diets while handing out complimentary vegan ice cream!

The charity, which is touring in an ice cream truck from 31^st July to 6^th August, will visit Cardiff, Blackpool, Leeds, Southend-On-Sea, Margate, Brighton and London. It is the UK’s first ever vegan ice cream van tour.

As part of the tour, friendly volunteers chat to passersby, handing out leaflets on plant-based eating. They catch the public’s attention with their ice cream van, free samples and the giant inflatable cow travelling everywhere with them.

The tour aims to raise awareness of the way dairy cows suffer, and encourage us to cut dairy products from our diets in order to reduce their pain. Many people are unaware that the lifecycle of a dairy cow is an exploitative cycle of artificial insemination, birth, the splitting up of mother and calf and then another forced pregnancy. The tour wishes to make this common knowledge.

Viva! also hopes to demonstrate just how delicious dairy-free alternatives can be. Laura Hellwig, a Viva! campaigner, said: ‘We want to show the public how easy and delicious it is to make the switch to dairy-free products. By touring some of the largest cities in our amazing ice cream van, we will give the public the chance to try dairy-free ice cream, many of whom may never have considered trying dairy alternatives.’

‘There is no better time to choose a compassionate vegan lifestyle,’ she explained. ‘We hope that by handing out free vegan ice cream, we can show how easy and yummy it is to choose dairy-free products and encourage people to try vegan.’

You can spot the ice cream van in the following locations over the next week:

• 2^nd August – Dortmund Square, Leeds
• 3^rd August – Victoria Circus, Southend-On-Sea
• 4^th August – Cecil Square, Margate
• 5^th August – New Street, Brighton
• 6^th August – Camden High Street, London