Hi Melissa,
Your situation is very common among new vegans. We probably have an article at my magazine,
VegFamily, that covers it. Browse around and see.
But in general, you cannot expect anyone to make special arrangements for you. You can hope. You can even request. But never expect. Always have a back up for yourself because even if someone does order something special for you, in my experience, about half the time it comes out wrong. Like they sprinkle cheese on an otherwise perfect salad.
At work, always bring your own food, even if the company is providing for you. At events, I like to contact the catering manager directly and ask for a vegan meal. I make a simple request like a fruit plate or grilled veggies in just oil. But I will often eat a medium sized meal before going to an event just in case they have nothing for me when I get there. I also usually smuggle a few energy bars in my purse for extreme hunger emergencies. Sometimes I'll just slip into the bathroom to eat one, or I'll just whip it out at the table.
In time, your coworkers will get used to your lifestyle choice, but it does take time. People will make snide comments. People will make encouraging and curious comments. You'll get it all.
One thing I used to do when I worked in a corporate environment was go up to the person in charge of ordering for the event and say, "Hi Mary, as you know I'm vegan. I was wondering if you were planning to order anything for this event that I'll be able to eat. If not, I'll just plan to bring my own food or eat before I come. I just wanted to find out the situation in advance."
Now notice I didn't ask her to order me anything but made her aware of my situation and left it up to her. Nine times out of ten she would be delighted and pleased to help me out, going out of her way to find out what I could eat. I find that when you don't expect people are often willing to help.
Anyway, give it a try.
One time they ordered a cheeseless veggie pizza along with 3 other pizzas dripping with cheese and meat. When people came into the conference room everyone dove into the cheeseless veggie pizza! Leaving none for me! Even though they all requested the pepperoni. After that, I always made sure I got to the conference room first to grab a couple slices of the cheeseless veggie pizza. Finally someone got the clue and started ordering 3 cheeseless veggies and only one pepperoni. Weird huh?
Good luck to you
