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