New Haven Independent

This event is part of a national project called Dining Out for Life, which began 17 years ago in Philadelphia and has now spread to over 50 cities in the U.S. and Canada.

Events like this are especially needed after federal funding for New Haven AIDS work was cut by over 50 percent this year, leaving the city’s AIDS agencies scrambling to continue servicing the community. For more information about the cuts, click here.

Another event attempting to fill this funding void was a recent “Cut-A-Thon,” which coordinated local salons and exchanged haircuts for AIDS Project New Haven donations. For the “Cut-A-Thon” flyer, click here.

Dining Out for Life’s New Haven coordinator, Jere Lepley (pictured at the top of this story in front of Quattro’s, a participating restaurant), sits on AIDS Project New Haven’s Board of Directors. He has been dreaming about adding New Haven to the project’s ranks for over a year, and is “very excited” for Thursday. He hasn’t decided where he’ll be eating yet, but he suspects he’ll just grab dinner at Bulldog Burrito, a participating restaurant, so he’ll be on his toes to respond to potential crises.

Here’s a list of participating restaurants:

Assaggio, Branford

The Blue Pearl, New Haven

Tre Scalini, New Haven

Casa Nostra, New Haven

Diner 21, New Haven

Bulldog Burrito, New Haven

Sullivan’s, New Haven

Katz II on Temple, New Haven

ME `N U, New Haven

Quattro’s, New Haven

Chip’s Family Restaurant, Orange

Reno’s Pizzeria, Orange

Poncho’s Cantina, New Haven

168 York Street Cafe, New Haven