World Vegetarian Day is coming up Friday.

And, that raises a question: How friendly is Fresno — surrounded by the world’s most productive farmland — to vegetarians and vegans?

Pretty friendly, according to WalletHub.

The personal finance website compared the 100 largest U.S. cities for data such as grocery costs for vegetarians, the number of salad shops per capita, and the cost of vegetarian groceries.

Fresno Ranks No. 32

While not as ideal for vegetarians as top-ranked Portland, Oregon, or even Valley neighbor Bakersfield (No. 17), Fresno checked in at No. 32 in WalletHub’s ratings.

Fresno offers diverse, high-quality vegetarian options, but they are more expensive than those in three-quarters of American cities, according to the survey.

Stanford University’s Dr. Reshema Shah says that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the scrutiny on healthy eating and food insecurity.

“People are becoming more aware of the critical role of diet in promoting health, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and even preventing future pandemics. Shifting towards a plant-based diet makes sense for all of these reasons,” Shah said in a WalletHub news release.

Try This Tip

For people debating whether to embrace the vegetarian lifestyle, Shah has this tip:

“Try swapping out one meal a day for a veg option (oatmeal instead of bacon and eggs), recreate favorites (bean instead of beef burrito), explore different cuisines (many are quite plant-forward — Indian, Ethiopian, Thai), find a sense of community (in person or virtual) to make the experience more enjoyable and sustainable.”

Most Vegetarian and Vegan-Friendly Cities