A few weeks ago, a group of about 25 to 30 people got together for dinner at Root, the vegan restaurant on West Walnut Street.

While they ate, they chatted about how they first became vegetarian or vegan, shared news stories they’d read about nutrition or the treatment of animals and discussed vegetarian events they’d been to in other cities.

Then, Phil Allamong got up to speak. He’s the founder and facilitator of the Lancaster Vegetarian Society.

The group’s meetups for vegetarians and vegans (or those curious about the lifestyle) had tapered off to silence for a few years, but Allamong and his wife, Sherry, have decided to start them up again.

Allamong told the group he’s hoping to find enough volunteers to organize Lancaster’s first-ever VegFest next year, an event patterned after vegetarian gatherings held in larger cities such as Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

The diners said they’d like to meet for vegetarian or vegan meals at least quarterly, and sounded enthusiastic about volunteering for the VegFest.

Allamong, who, with his wife, runs the SGMC retail store, custom framing and glass business in Quarryville, became a vegetarian more than 20 years ago in response to health problems. He lost a lot of weight after changing his diet, and he and his wife have never looked back.

“I’m the cook,” Allamong says, “so my wife went along.”

We asked Allamong about his own vegetarian journey and the mission of the Vegetarian Society.

How did the Lancaster Vegetarian Society get started?

“There used to be on Plum Street the Enchanted Forest Cafe. It was mostly vegan. It has to be close to 10 years ago that they closed. When they closed, we founded the Lancaster Vegetarian Society to try to keep the people that congregated there together. That was the origin of it. It’s nice when you have a group of like-minded people who get together.”

What resources does the Vegetarian Society offer?

“We’ve always had a website (lancastervegetariansociety.org) and an email list, and a Facebook page when that became popular. There’s a list of restaurants there that are vegetarian- and vegan-friendly. I’ve had calls from people coming to Lancaster, thanking us for having it there. We also have a calendar of vegetarian events, like the (local) vegan potlucks.”

What kinds of events did the group have in the past?

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“We did potlucks, and we’ve gone to different restaurants that would present a vegan meal. We had a restaurant cater one of the events. At that one, we had close to 150 people. We did some things (at local churches) and at Lancaster County Park. I can see doing some potlucks down the road (again). We haven’t scheduled our next (meetup date) yet, but you can find it on our website or sign up for our email list.”

When and where would you like to have a local VegFest?

“We’re still in the very preliminary stages of VegFest. It’s going to take a lot of people to be able to make it happen. There are a lot of people that would attend a VegFest. The biggest thing is finding a venue and then finding volunteers to do the work. I will facilitate it and do whatever I can, but it’s going to be the community’s VegFest. ... You can draw the whole gamut of vendors — food, the environment, the health, the nutrition, the fitness. We’re looking to have a VegFest next year, but if it takes longer, till 2018, we want to take the time it needs to do it right.”

How did you and your wife become vegetarians?

“We strive to be vegan, though it isn’t always possible. We strive not to consume animals or animal products. We started this journey in 1994. It was a health issue — I just needed to lose weight. I had sleep apnea. I took a course at (Lancaster) General Hospital. It was taught by a dietician, and it was suggested by my doctor. The person who taught it was vegetarian. She didn’t push that on you. But the evidence was there that maybe that would be a good idea. That’s where it started. I lost 130 pounds. I do the cooking, so (my wife) went along (with becoming mostly vegan).”

What’s your advice for someone investigating a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle?

“First, you can check our website (for resources). Then, there are great starter kits out there. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has a great vegan starter kit (peta.org). There’s a group in Baltimore, the Vegetarian Resource Group (vrg.org), and their sole purpose is to dispense information to individuals.”

Where do you get your vegan recipes?

“You can ‘veganize’ just about any recipe. I have probably 1,400 recipes (in a database). When we started, there were very few meat substitutes out there. There are so many faux-meat choices out there now that you can use to replace (the meat in a recipe). And you can use tofu in stir-fries. I make tofu fish sticks. … I saw a vegan chef on the ‘Today’ show, and they were making crabless crab cakes. It’s a can of chickpeas, two cans of hearts of palm, vinegar, Dijon mustard, vegan mayonnaise and panko breadcrumbs.”

What are some popular myths about vegetarianism?

“A lot of people think eating vegetarian is more expensive. It’s not. It’s less expensive. You’re not buying meat. And as for not being able to get enough protein (as a vegetarian), the comeback there is that if you eat enough calories for your body, and eat a wide variety of plants, it’s impossible not to get enough protein.”

Where else did you first get information on being vegetarian or vegan?

"We’ve been to the Vegetarian Summerfest for 17 or 18 years. It’s coming up (July 6-10); it’s the 42nd year for that. It’s held by the North American Vegetarian Society, and it gets about 700 to 900 people (each year). They’re like-minded people, where you don’t have to explain your food choices or your life choices, relating to animals. It’s on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.”

What have you learned at Summerfest?

“There is where (Sherry and I) saw the connection (among our eating choices, health and animal rights).That’s where we first heard about being vegan. Initially it was a health thing, and then you start getting into the ramifications of your food choices and making that choice is probably the best thing you can do for your health and for the planet (since livestock production has been shown to produce greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change). SummerFest isn’t really an animal rights thing. It leans much more toward health.”