Come to the Table - A Food Day Event

On Thursday, October 23, the Somerville Food Security Coalition hosted Come to the Table—an exciting Food Day event at the Winter Hill Community Innovation School.

More than 150 kids and adults gathered for an evening of food and fun that included a raffle, fun activities, dinner provided by the Tufts Food Rescue, and a wealth of information about food security resources in Somerville.

Enjoying a yummy dinner!

Activities for all ages were ample! SomerVIVA tested guests’ palates with a side-by-side taste test of bottled and tap water. To the surprise of many, the tap water was the clear favorite!

Tap water taste test

Attendees also marked their favorite grocery stores and markets on a map of Somerville, creating a unique view of food in the city. Our youngest guests enjoyed a coloring station that stressed the importance of eating plenty of fruits and veggies.

Dot survey

There were food samples, too! Community Cooks handed out tastes of their yummy homemade pumpkin bread. Perfect for fall! The Somerville Farm to School Project made Moroccan carrot salad with raisins and spices, which was also a big hit.

Moroccan Carrot Salad

Many other organizations, including Project Bread, Groundwork Somerville, and AARP were on hand to provide information about food security resources in Somerville.

Food security resources

To top it all off, the evening ended with a big raffle. The Food Security Coalition made sure the prizes were ample and generous, providing t-shirts, gift cards, books, and even big pumpkins for the lucky winners! No one left empty handed; the Tufts Food Rescue also handed out bags of healthy food for attendees to take home.

Raffle prizes

Dozens of volunteers made sure the event ran smoothly.

The event was by all accounts a huge success! It was a fun evening that brought the Somerville community together to embrace the spirit of Food Day. We are already looking forward to coming to the table again for Food Day 2015!

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Special thanks to Somerville Family Learning Collaborative, Somerville Homeless Coalition, and Somerville Public Schools for making this event possible!

Visit somervillefoodsecurity.org for more information about the Somerville Food Security Coalition.

Content provided by Kira Wohland, graduate student at Tufts University, studying Nutrition and Public Health.

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