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YUM project promotes Somerville's diverse dining
The Welcome Project's latest tasty endeavor can be summed up in just three letters.YUM, a project featuring 13 immigrant-owned restaurants, seeks to celebrate Somerville's culinary diversity while introducing some of the city's lesser-known eateries to the public.
“One of the things we want to do at the Welcome Project is highlight the strengths and assets and contributions that immigrants are making to Somerville,” said director Warren Goldstein-Gelb on Tuesday. “That includes food.”
The program was inspired by a partnership between Welcome Project staff and Tufts Anthropology Lecturer Jennifer Burtner, whose students began mapping immigrant-owned restaurants in Somerville back in 2008. Their research, combined with the Welcome Project's outreach efforts, have resulted in YUM, which is promoting local dining spots through its restaurant discount card and upcoming fund-raiser.
“It is the perfect method for combining Tufts’ resources and mission,”
said Burtner, “providing students with a very practical application for
the research skills we teach them and an avenue for putting into
practice the civic responsibility so many feel.”
The YUM restaurant card, launched in December, can be purchased online for $12 ($10 if bought in person at the Welcome Project, Tufts' Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, or D Squared on Highland Avenue) and offers the holder a 10 percent discount on orders over $25 at 13 participating restaurants. All proceeds benefit the Welcome Project's programs for Somerville's immigrant families.
To celebrate the YUM initiative, the Welcome Project is holding a fund-raiser Friday evening at Arts at the Armory featuring food from all 13 restaurants, musical entertainment, dancing by two former Welcome Project students, and a photography exhibit featuring local restaurants and their dishes. Tickets are $40 and can be purchased online.
“There's a really nice feeling about it,” Goldstein-Gelb said of the event. “It's a little different, you could be out for a nice evening of delicious food.”
Both the fund-raiser and the restaurant cards are raising vital funds for the Welcome Project, which works directly with immigrant populations in Somerville to encourage civic engagement and personal well-being. But YUM is equally focused on aiding local restaurants struggling to stay afloat, Goldstein-Gelb said.
“We want to encourage people to use them,” he said. “In a recession, small businesses are among the hardest hit.”
For more details on YUM, visit the Welcome Project website.
The YUM restaurant card, launched in December, can be purchased online for $12 ($10 if bought in person at the Welcome Project, Tufts' Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, or D Squared on Highland Avenue) and offers the holder a 10 percent discount on orders over $25 at 13 participating restaurants. All proceeds benefit the Welcome Project's programs for Somerville's immigrant families.
To celebrate the YUM initiative, the Welcome Project is holding a fund-raiser Friday evening at Arts at the Armory featuring food from all 13 restaurants, musical entertainment, dancing by two former Welcome Project students, and a photography exhibit featuring local restaurants and their dishes. Tickets are $40 and can be purchased online.
“There's a really nice feeling about it,” Goldstein-Gelb said of the event. “It's a little different, you could be out for a nice evening of delicious food.”
Both the fund-raiser and the restaurant cards are raising vital funds for the Welcome Project, which works directly with immigrant populations in Somerville to encourage civic engagement and personal well-being. But YUM is equally focused on aiding local restaurants struggling to stay afloat, Goldstein-Gelb said.
“We want to encourage people to use them,” he said. “In a recession, small businesses are among the hardest hit.”
For more details on YUM, visit the Welcome Project website.
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