Somerville Food Week Events Oct. 17-23

CITY OF SOMERVILLE

CELEBRATES FOOD WEEK OCT. 17–24

 SOMERVILLE

– Thursday, Oct. 24, is national Food Day – a

celebration of healthy, affordable and sustainable food. And because one day

just isn’t enough, the City of Somerville’s Shape Up Somerville program is

leading a citywide Food Week from Oct. 17 to 24. Eight days of Shape Up Somerville

partner and community events will highlight Somerville’s diverse and exciting

food culture, while the “Where’s Sam?” contest invites residents to learn about

healthy dining and living by watching for Shape Up Sam mascot sightings about

town.

“Ensuring that everyone in our community has access to healthy,

affordable, sustainable food is a serious issue that Shape Up Somerville and

our partners work to address daily, but this week we thought we’d have a little

fun with it,” said Shape Up Somerville Coordinator Rachael Plitch. “Whether

it’s the South Street Farm Volunteer Day or Harvest Fest, Food Week is designed

to make learning about good food options enjoyable for the whole family.”

Events range from a film screening and garden tours to affordable

and healthy recipe tastings, cooking demos and classes, garlic planting, a

wellness fair and a citywide SomerPotluck. See the full calendar at http://www.somervillema.gov/departments/health/sus.

On the dining side, each day of the week a different Shape Up Approved – Eat

Well healthy dining restaurant will be offering a Shape Up Approved Special

such as Szechuan spicy mala shrimp or whole wheat waffles with fresh fruit. Participating

restaurants include East End Grille, Cantina la Mexicana, Lotus Xpress, Red

Bones, Mama Gina’s, Ball Square Café, Sally O’Brien’s, and The Neighborhood

Restaurant.

“Shape Up Approved dining is available year-round at roughly

50 Somerville restaurants where our nutritionist has studied the menu, met with

chefs, and identified healthy and still very tasty dining options,” said Shape

Up Somerville Director David Hudson. “The idea is to make it easy for diners to

eat out and still eat well. Just ask for the Shape Up Approved menu or check

the menus out online in our Facebook

page photo gallery.”

Meanwhile,

the City’s spandex-clad, all-red Healthy Eating Ambassador, Shape Up Sam will

be popping up at Food Week events, visiting Shape Up Approved restaurants and exercising

around town. Spot Sam or solve a clue about Sam’s whereabouts and share the

news on Twitter, Facebook or by email to be entered to win the Food Week Prize

Package, which includes tickets to Somerville food events, a one night stay at

the Fairmont Battery Wharf Hotel, gift certificates to Shape Up Approved

restaurants, and more. Enter on Twitter by tagging @ShapeUpSam with #SomerFood, or post to fb.com/shapeupapprovedsomerville, or email shapeupsam@somervillema.gov. Or, if needed,

call 311. For clues, follow Shape Up Sam at the Twitter and Facebook feeds

listed above or the City at @SomervilleCity or fb.com/SomervilleCity.

Residents are also invited to take part in the Citywide

SomerPotluck on Wednesday, Oct. 23. Using #SomerFood on Facebook or Twitter or

Shape Up Sam’s email shapeupsam@somervillema.gov,

residents can submit recipes all week (healthy and affordable recipes are

especially encouraged). Recipes received by 12 p.m. on Oct. 23 will qualify the

cook to be entered to win a visit from Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone at his or her potluck

that evening (and, yes, he’ll bring a dish too).

Food access and security is critical to any healthy

community, so one food day or food week isn’t enough,” said Mayor Curtatone.

“As a community, we need to keep sustainable, healthy, affordable food at the

forefront of our efforts whether through programs like free breakfasts in the

schools, the subsidized Mobile Farmers Market, or awareness raising events like

Food Week. That said, I’m really looking forward to the citywide SomerPotluck. The

idea of home after home filled with neighbors and families gathered over

dinners of healthy, affordable, sustainable foods is the kind of

community-building positive effort that Somerville is all about.”

Somerville

Food Week couldn’t happen without the City and Shape Up’s numerous partners and

sponsors including: Whole Foods Somerville, Fairmont Battery Wharf, the Somerville

Chamber of Commerce, Hubway, Groundwork Somerville, Somerville Local First, East

Somerville Main Streets, the Somerville Arts Council, the Welcome Project, Boston

Burger Company, Red Bones, East End Grille, Cantina la Mexicana, Lotus Xpress, Mama

Gina’s, Ball Square Café, Sally O’Brien’s, and the Neighborhood Restaurant.

Finally, for this press release, City staff managed to reach

the elusive Shape Up Sam directly. “I’ll be everywhere and anywhere that’s

healthy,” Sam said. “Spot me if you can.”

 Somerville Food Week Events:

               10/17

• “Saving the Seed” Film
  
  screening & Seed Lending Library Planning Discussion (7 p.m.-8:30 p.m.,
  
  Somerville Community Access Television, 90 Union Square)

10/18

• Glen Community Garden
  
  Tour (3-5 p.m., Glen St. & Oliver St.)

• Relish Center for
  
  Urban Agriculture Open House (5-8 p.m., 66-70 Union Square, Suite 105)

10/19

• Union Square Farmers’
  
  Market (9 a.m.-1 p.m., Union Square Plaza)

• Somerville Local
  
  First’s 5^th Annual Harvest Fest (2-5 p.m. & 6-9 p.m.,
  
  Center for Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave.)

10/20

• South Street Farm
  
  Volunteer Day (9 a.m.-12 p.m., 100 South St.)

• SomerStreets – Monster
  
  Mashed-Up Festival (12 p.m.-4 p.m., Somerville Ave. from Washington St. to
  
  Wilson Sq.)

10/21

• Whole Foods Somerville
  
  Meatless Monday Food Demo (4-6 p.m., 45 Beacon St.)

10/22

• East Somerville
  
  Community School Garden-Garlic Planting (10 a.m.-2 p.m., 50 Cross St.)

• Cambridge Health
  
  Alliance Rethink Your Drink Demo: Reducing the Sugar in Your Beverages
  
  (11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Somerville Hospital Cafeteria, 230 Highland Ave.)

• Whole Foods Somerville
  
  Healthy & Affordable Recipe Tasting (45 Beacon St.)

10/23

• Davis Square Farmers
  
  Market (12-6 p.m., Day St & Herbert St., Davis Square)

• Citywide SomerPotluck,
  
  at your home and other homes across the city

10/24

• Somerville City
  
  Employee Potluck (Municipal worksites)

• Somerville Council on
  
  Aging Annual Health & Wellness Fair (Holland St. Center, 167 Holland
  
  St.)

• Day of the Dead
  
  Cooking Class (Tu y Yo, 858 Broadway)

– END –

Press Contact: Denise Taylor 617-625-6600, ext. 2103, dtaylor@somervillema.gov

Shape Up Somerville Contact: Rachael

Plitch, 617-625-6600, ext. 4321, RPlitch@somervillema.gov