Did you know that last Monday, June 17th, was National Eat Your Vegetables Day?
Me neither! (**embarrassed**)
Needless to say, I was none too pleased that I’d missed it—after all, this is Veggie Quest. So I vowed then and there to set up a calendar for myself listing all the national vegetable holidays I could find.
Then I figured that, hey, other people might want to know when vegetable national food holidays are scheduled to go down, too. Like food bloggers who want to boost their traffic by posting timely veggie recipes, or rockin’ awesome moms (and dads) who want a healthy excuse to celebrate with their kids.
Or people who are just really, really into vegetables. (I think you know who you are.)
So I compiled the most comprehensive collection of vegetable national food holidays I could find in a handy calendar format for easy reference.
I also took the liberty of establishing my very own vegetable holiday, National Hug A Jicama Day, to be celebrated every January 30th. (Because that’s when jicama is in season, and, goshdarnit, jicama is one seriously underrated veggie.)
Other personal favorites—besides National Hug A Jicama Day, of course!—are World Cabbage Day (February 17th), Lima Bean Respect Day (April 20th), and National Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Night (August 8th).
So whether you’re a food blogger, a parent, or just a veggie aficionado, check out the full calendar below. I’m also posting it as a resource page so you can easily reference it all year round; just click “Vegetable Holidays” in the top navigation bar.
I should also add that I didn’t just pull these holidays off of any old blog. No, I have standards. (Seriously!) Each holiday came from either the USDA, a growers’ group, a major newspaper/publication (e.g. CNN), or a combination of these sources. So you can blog—or just celebrate your veggies—worry free. (I can sense your relief from here.)
Enjoy!
Vegetable Holidays
January
Jan 4: National Spaghetti Day
Jan 6: National Bean Day
Jan 15: Fresh Squeezed Juice Day
Jan 30: Hug a Jicama Day
February
Feb 1–28: Sweet Potato Month
Feb 1–28: Potato Lover’s Month
Feb 4: National Stuffed Mushroom Day
Feb 17: World Cabbage Day
March
Mar 1–31: National Nutrition Month
Mar 1–31: Frozen Food Month
Mar 1–31: Celery Month
Mar 20: Great American Meatout
Mar 22: National Broccoli Day
Mar 26: National Spinach Day
Mar 28: Something on a Stick Day
April
Apr 6: Fresh Tomato Day
Apr 19: National Garlic Day
Apr 20: Lima Bean Respect Day
May
May 1–31: National Asparagus Month
May 1–31: National Salad Month
May 1: National Salad Day
June
Jun 1–30: Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month
Jun 17: Eat Your Vegetables Day
July
Jul 1–31: Baked Beans Month
Jul 1–31: National Picnic Month
Jul 25–31: National Salad Week
August
Aug 8: Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Night
Aug 29: More Herb Less Salt Day
September
Sep 1–30: Fruits and Veggies—More Matters Month
Sep 1–30: National Mushroom Month
October
Oct 1–31: Spinach Lovers Month
Oct 1–31: Vegetarian Month
Oct 1: World Vegetarian Day
Oct 26: National Pumpkin Day
November
Nov 7: Men Make Dinner Day
Nov 10–16: Split Pea Soup Week
If you could start your own veggie holiday, what (and when) would it be? Can’t wait to hear all about it in the comments!
You might also like:
I'm Lee, an RD thriving on a healthy plant based diet.
Nothing is showing on the calendar 🙁
Eeps! Thanks for the heads-up, Tango! Apparently I didn't share the calendar publicly, but I fixed it. My first time using a Google calendar on the blog, needless to say. 😉 I'm also adding the holidays in list form in case that's easier; should be up shortly.
There definitely needs to be a jicama day! Also a brussel sprout day, a kabocha squash day, an artichoke day, and a roasted vegetable day! Thanks for the list, this is great for a veggie fanatic like me!
Brussels sprout day–woot! There should absolutely be a Brussels sprout day; I'm a huge fan of those mini, misunderstood cabbages. Ditto for artichokes and roasted vegetables, but I have to confess–I've never had kabocha squash. What do you do with it?
I’d like a Marrow Day because when I google marrows everyone claims they are just large courgettes – which is nonsense – a marrow is a different plant and very different from a courgette. Marrows are highly misunderstood.