On Thursday, eating out will be truly justifiable. At 15 different restaurants in New Haven, up to 50 percent of your dinner bill will be donated to local AIDS work — at a critical time for funding-starved agencies.
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
