Like most eateries, Loving Hut closes nightly with substantial scraps.

The vegan restaurant’s co-owner and a sustainability advocate, Lihn La, is giving those veggies a second chance.

Since 2022, the three Loving Huts have donated more than 104,000 pounds of food to Danielle Betterman’s Better Piggies Rescue, feeding more than 200 pigs and two cows. Neighboring grocery stores and the Foothills Food Bank have also joined the effort.

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“The grocery stores we partner with have more food coming in, and they’re trying to reduce waste, too,” La said. “So, the amount has increased. It’s a great thing.”

The partnership was forged out of love — and grief — for animals. La was waiting at an animal hospital for her dog, when she came across Better Piggies Rescue’s Instagram page. Betterman was seeking volunteers to help clean up after a monsoon.

“I was going through a hard time,” La said. “One of my fur baby daughters was in the emergency room. I couldn’t sit still.

“I was scrolling through social media, and I saw Danielle’s page. I messaged her on Instagram. Danielle and I instantly fell in love with the idea — like instantly — of me volunteering, and I haven’t left.”

Betterman said the two “fan-girled” when they connected.

I said, ‘Get on over here,’” Betterman said with a laugh. “I was such a huge fan.”

Soon, La’s volunteer work evolved into a “food service.”

“I looked at my aunties and uncles prepping, peeling carrots,” La said. “I saw all this food, and I asked Danielle if I could bring food.”

Loving Hut delivered carrot, potato, cabbage and broccoli peels. A tractor now moves the donations.

“She has her own little way of doing things. When you try to help her with that, she says, ‘No, no, no, I got it. I got it now,’” Betterman said.

Spreading the love

Loving Hut was founded in Taiwan in 2008 by Ching Hai, a spiritual teacher and founder of the Quan Yin Method. Now, there are more than 200 locations in Asia, Europe, South America, North America and Australia. In Arizona, the eateries are in Glendale, Peoria, Tempe and Phoenix.

The family-owned and -operated Loving Hut offers cuisine is inspired by Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Mexican and American recipes. However, the vegan menu varies at each location.

A piggy twist

Betterman fell in love with pigs after she was gifted one 15 years ago.

“I started doing research to make sure I was a good piggy mama,” she said. “I saw there was a huge need for pig rescues. I started working with other organizations. Then I started an Instagram page called Better Piggies. It was all about my piggie, and my last name is Betterman. It just blew up. I started rescuing and fostering pigs. That’s how it became a nonprofit.”

As the owner, Betterman said the pigs are her top priority, but she also focuses on collecting donations. The volunteers are vital as well.  

“I don’t think I could do this all myself,” she said. “It is a lot to juggle, but that’s very necessary.”

She said that rescue pigs come from a variety of situations.

“People adopt them as pets, thinking that they’re going to stay small,” Betterman said. “They don’t, obviously. They may not get them spayed or neutered. It’s expensive. Then they turn into little hormone monsters. They’re being dumped in the desert.

“The Arizona Humane Society is calling us. All of the police departments throughout the Valley call us. We work with the Department of Agriculture, so if they get a call about a pig, we’re out rescuing them. We rescued three kiddos two weeks ago from a neighborhood in Laveen, so it’s just all over the place. People are very irresponsible with their pets.”

To educate the community, La and Betterman attend events and “show people how amazing these pigs are,” Betterman said. “Hopefully, when someone is considering a pig as a pet, they will come to the rescue first. It’s that education that’s super, super important to us.”

Information

Better Piggie’s Rescue, 602-962-8488, betterpiggiesrescue@gmail.com

Loving Hut has locations in Glendale, Peoria, Tempe and Phoenix, lovinghut.us