PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Today is National Nonprofit Day, and with it comes an opportunity to help support local organizations.

The Ocean State is home to hundreds of nonprofits, and groups like Big Brothers Big Sisters Rhode Island help change the trajectory of young kids’ lives in the state.

Rhode Island General Treasurer James Diossa highlighted National Nonprofit Day on Facebook.

To find out if your favorite organization has funds waiting to be claimed, or if you have unclaimed property, you can use this link here.

Rhode Island may be the smallest state in the US, but its vegan food options are booming like never before. If you’re visiting, or you just want to get to know the plant-based scene a little better, check out the best places to eat below.

Are there any vegan restaurants in Rhode Island?

While New York and California tend to attract the most plant-based buzz, the Ocean State has become a recent hotspot for vegans on the East Coast. From plant-based ice cream shops to an entire vegan food hall marketplace, there’s nothing quite like Rhode Island’s plant-based community.

Vegan Food Near Me: What to Eat in Honolulu

The best places for vegan food in Rhode Island

Most of the restaurants below are entirely vegan, and one thing is for certain: you are not going to go hungry.

Basil & Bunny

1 Basil & Bunny

Bristol, RI

Last year, due to popular demand, Basil & Bunny upgraded from a food truck to its very own brick-and-mortar restaurant. But just like its former home on wheels, the new location makes vegan fast food accessible to anyone looking for a quick and satisfying bite. Best sellers include the Bunny Mak and the Buff Bunny—both modeled after famous fast-food menu items.
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Sprout and Lentil

2 Sprout and Lentil

Middleton, RI

Sprout and Lentil is an award-winning vegan restaurant founded by chef, entrepreneur, and animal-rights activist Carmen Foy. After 12 years of working as a private chef and working in restaurants around the world, Foy began to plant her roots by selling vegan grab-and-go dishes at a local farmers’ market. Soon after, Sprout and Lentil launched its mainstay location to spread the word about sustainable plant-based eating. Now, it’s become a vegan destination, topping “Best Of” burger lists while establishing a hearty menu of other specialties such as pizza and cauliflower steaks.
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Root on Broadway

3 Root on Broadway

Newport, RI

For a smoothie bowl that’s both delicious and picture-perfect, stop by Root on Broadway. This vegan eatery is run by power couple Kate Moran and Paul Webber who came together over a shared passion for serving plant-based meals. Root on Broadway has been rated by Yelp as one of the top 100 vegan restaurants in the US, with an extensive drink and food menu to back it. Fan favorites include the coconut bacon BLT, the cold-brew awakening smoothie, and of course, the signature açaí and grain bowls.
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Like No Udder

4 Like No Udder

Providence, RI

Like No Udder is truly a Rhode Island gem. This plant-based business started as the world’s first vegan soft-serve ice cream truck and eventually opened a brick-and-mortar—now at a new location. Creativity is key, with options for customers to create their very own soft serve “Unicorns” using a variety of flavors and toppings. But this company does more than just scoops and swirls. Bred from the pandemic, the shop started selling savory knishes which were an instant hit.
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PiANTA

5 Pianta

Providence, RI

No matter how old you are, it’s impossible to age out of a proper, gooey grilled cheese. Pianta specializes in this timeless classic and brings a modern twist to it to satisfy today’s vegan audience. Owned by Executive Chef Michelle Politano, Pianta’s plant-based cuisine has stolen the hearts and stomachs of many Rhode Island foodies. The menu changes frequently, but expect to find options like grilled eggs and cheese, as well as waffles and frittatas, on the popular brunch menu. Pianta also has its very own in-house Executive Pastry Chef, Danielle Rotella, best known for her delectable carrot cake and her traditional Italian panna cotta with grilled stone fruit. If you’re anywhere near Providence, RI (which is basically anywhere in the state), you have to check this place out. 
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Apothica Cafe

6 Apothica Café

Cumberland, RI

Apothica Café is an apothecary-inspired vegan coffee shop that provides healthy alternatives to everyone’s favorite café drinks. This plant-based joint specializes in espresso and tea-based lattes made from scratch using all-natural ingredients. Best sellers include the Dragonfruit Matcha and herb-infused Moon Milks. To satisfy your hunger, try out the mouthwatering breakfast menu which includes dishes like vegan burritos and bruschettas. Finish your stay with a delicate vegan macaron or an oh-so-satisfying ice cream cookie sandwich.
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Celebrated

7 Celebrated

Warwick, RI

Celebrated creates elevated plant-based desserts fit for any occasion. This locally-owned bakery carries everything from succulent-inspired cupcakes to DIY cookie decorating kits. The bakery also specializes in custom orders, including vegan wedding cakes. For non-locals who are craving a slice of heaven, Celebrated offers nationwide shipping for popular food items like its seasonally inspired French macaroons.
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Plant City

8 Plant City

Plant City offers vegans and non-vegans alike a little bit of everything. The community space is an all-vegan food hall, which includes a vegan food marketplace along with four plant-based restaurants, three bars, and a vegan bakery. One could easily spend an entire day of eating, drinking, shopping, and socializing here. 
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Wildflour Bakery

9 Wildflour Bakery

Pawtucket, RI

Wildflour Bakery serves up delicious vegan and kosher treats that are sure to delight. The pastry shop offers fan-favorite vegan cheesecake and its seasonal PRIDE month-inspired whoopie pies. This dessert shop also offers fresh protein-packed smoothies compliments of Fully Rooted. Guests are welcome to spend the day working remotely at the bakery while enjoying all of the plant-based menu items Wildflour has to offer.
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Veggie Fun

10 Veggie Fun 

Providence, RI

Head to downtown Providence for an expansive menu of vegan Pan-Asian dishes. Veggie Fun’s plant-based, kosher, and Asian-inspired cuisine spans everything from rich dishes like a Malaysian curry stew to the kitchen’s take on the classic General Tso’s chicken. If you’re looking to satisfy your hunger and not break the bank, Veggie Fun is it. 
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Garden Grille

11 Garden Grille

Pawtucket, RI

Garden Grille is a vegetarian restaurant with a surplus of vegan options. The fresh tofu BLT, spicy Korean tacos, and decadent Potato Pizza are just three of the many vegan menu items this concept has to offer. This long-standing pro-plant restaurant has been a Rhode Island favorite since 1996 and continues to be a popular spot for plant-based eaters across the state.
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By the time Providence public school students go back to class on Sept. 3, Rhode Island’s education commissioner may have chosen whether to end, continue, or reconfigure the state takeover of their schools five years ago.

A new progress report from consulting firm SchoolWorks on the 2019 action that handed control of the capital city’s underperforming schools over to the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) could help guide Commissioner of Education Angélica Infante-Green in making her decision.

“I have not ruled out any options,” Infante-Green said Friday morning. “I’m letting the process play out.”

Infante-Green shared and summarized the findings in a letter to the Providence Public Schools District (PPSD) community before taking questions from reporters at RIDE’s main offices in downtown Providence. 

“This is about 30, 35, years of struggle for this district, and it’s not going to be fixed overnight,” Infante-Green told reporters. “We talk about it as a big ship with a little rudder … in a hurricane. That’s how it was happening during the pandemic.”

Math and English test scores from the 2022-2023 school year show just how far the district has to go to achieve the academic goals prescribed in its “turnaround action plan.” For example, among eighth-graders, only 6% were at grade level in math, and 15% were proficient in English Language Arts (ELA). 

Compared to the 2018, pre-takeover baseline, eighth-graders’ math proficiency dropped one percentage point. The turnaround action plan called for 50% proficiency in math and 63% in ELA for eighth-graders by the 2026 school year. 

Victor Morente, a RIDE spokesperson, told reporters the commissioned report — with its $120,600 sticker price — is a statutory requirement of the takeover process. The Crowley Act, codified in state law in 1997, allowed state education officials to exercise administrative powers over Providence’s underperforming schools.

“There has been progress in the hurricane, in the pandemic,” Infante-Green said.

SchoolWorks interviewed students, families, teachers and leadership across schools, the district, Mayor Brett Smiley’s office and Providence City Councilors about how well the plan has fared. The research team also visited schools and reviewed documents from some of the many stakeholders involved: RIDE, Providence Public Schools Department, the city and its school board. 

“City Council members, School Committee members, and community members reported a need for improved collaboration, communication, and transparency between municipal entities including RIDE, the School Committee, and PPSD,” the report reads. 

Absent from that list is the state’s Council on Elementary and Secondary Education, to whom Infante-Green could supply her decision at their next meeting on Aug. 29. The commissioner is also set to attend the Providence school board’s meeting on Aug. 21.

Another report released Friday from Harvard Graduate School for Education’s Center for Education Policy Research didn’t cost the state anything, but is part of a series of assessments being done for various school districts on the impacts of pandemic learning loss. The report compares the state’s recent school reforms to similar districts in Massachusetts and Connecticut. 

“Although the results suggest Providence is moving in the right direction, especially in ELA [English Language Arts], it is too early to draw conclusions about the efficacy of the Providence reform efforts,” the Harvard report noted. “The pandemic disrupted schooling in the Spring of 2020, just months after the state take-over. We only have two years of reliable student assessments post-pandemic (and a single year change in annual scores) by which to judge.”

‘A lot of material’

The plight of Providence schools has been on people’s minds, with a recent legislative study commission led by Sen. Sam Zurier, a Providence Democrat, attempting to suss out what can be done about the at-times awkward coupling of municipal and state-level leadership. 

Asked to comment on the pair of reports Friday afternoon, Zurier told Rhode Island Current that they contain “a lot of material,” and he’d be reviewing them over the weekend.  

Zurier’s reticence to comment too quickly is understandable: At a combined 89 letter-sized pages, the two reports are not light reading. Even the authors of the Harvard University report concluded that they were working with data perhaps that lacks definite shape.

Erlin Rogel, president of the Providence School Board, didn’t need as much time to assess the new report.

“RIDE commissioning a progress report is like a student filling in their own report card,” Rogel wrote in an emailed statement sent to news outlets, claiming the agency has “roundly rejected” the school board’s attempts to be included in the decision-making process. 

Rogel also argued that the report’s assertion that the school board does not act cohesively, and even lacks a “shared vision for  governance,” echoes “RIDE’s belief that the Board exists to silently rubber stamp their agenda.”

“I am no longer surprised by RIDE’s rejection of attempts to hold the agency accountable to the people, but I am deeply concerned by their lack of self awareness,” wrote Rogel, who did not immediately reply Friday afternoon to a request to answer follow-up questions.

But the SchoolWorks report does voice some of the board’s concerns: “School committee members also stated that they are not consistently engaged by the Superintendent or senior leaders from PPSD regarding programmatic changes, nor are they engaged in an advisory capacity regarding analysis of student outcomes.”

The report does not evaluate individual job performances or personnel — like that of Infante-Green, or of Providence Superintendent Javier Moñtanez, who recently signed a three-year contract extension with the district. A copy of the contract was not immediately available Friday afternoon.

“The report is evaluating the system,” Infante-Green told reporters, pointing to the report’s drill down into metrics and standards as markers of the superintendent’s work.

According to the SchoolWorks website, the firm has worked with education officials in Colorado, Chicago, Louisiana and Massachusetts. Kim Perron, president of Schoolworks, said in an email that the company would not be providing any comments, and directed questions to RIDE.