U.S.A. / SPORTS
Page 8 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
July 3, 2017
Meal program bridges cultural
divisions, one plate at a time
By Natalie Pompilio
The Associated Press
HILADELPHIA — On the
menu, the flavor profiles
seemed incongruous: Chinese
dumplings, Italian-style roast pork,
and a Mexican chicken dish featuring
an edible weed.
But when dinner was served — the
guests seated and plates bearing
foods of three different cultures
shared — it all made sense.
The meal was part of “Breaking
Bread; Breaking Barriers,” a year-
long program that brings people of
different backgrounds together for a
meal featuring their cultural favor-
ites, bridging differences one plate at
a time.
“People cooking and eating
together happens every day, but it
doesn’t often happen across our social
boundaries,” said Anuj Gupta,
general
manager
of
Reading
Terminal Market, a historic and
sprawling indoor market and home to
the program. “It’s an incredibly
powerful tool to cut through whatever
social barriers you want to erect.”
Jews and Muslims have shared
Jewish apple cake and baklava as
part of the program. Members of the
African-American
and
Korean-
American communities have come
together to compare fried chicken
recipes.
During the most recent gathering,
residents of the city’s Chinese and
Mexican communities enjoyed dinner
with members of the Philadelphia
Mummers Association, a 10,000-
strong civic association behind the
city’s annual New Year’s Day parade.
For much of their history, Mum-
mers groups included only white
men. Women weren’t allowed in the
parade until a few decades ago. The
tradition is also a family legacy, with
many clubs based in southern
Philadelphia.
While the 2017 parade was contro-
versy-free, past parades were tainted
by performances dubbed racist or
culturally insensitive. The Mummers
have tried to diversify, creating a
division in 2015 specifically for ethnic
groups.
The dinner consisted of Chinese
dumplings with pork or kale; verdo-
lagas con pollo (verdolagas is an herb
also known as purslane that’s largely
considered a weed by Americans);
and roasted pork rolled with spinach,
roasted peppers, and provolone
cheese, the Mummer contribution in
a nod to a popular Italian-American
dish served on New Year’s Day.
Before the meal, chef Alice Ye
taught Mummer Jay Polakoff how to
P
RECORD-SETTING ICHIRO. Center fielder Ichiro Suzuki of the
Miami Marlins catches a sacrifice fly during a Major League Baseball
game in Miami. Manager Don Mattingly made out the lineup for Miami
unaware he was making Ichiro the oldest player to start a game in center
field since at least 1900. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Ichiro Suzuki, 43, becomes
oldest starting center field
MIAMI (AP) — Manager Don Mattingly made out the
lineup for the Miami Marlins unaware he was making
Ichiro Suzuki the oldest player to start a game in center
field in Major League Baseball since at least 1900.
“He doesn’t play like that,” said Mattingly, who learned
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When the 43-year-old started in Miami’s 4-2 win over
the Chicago Cubs, he surpassed the record held by Hall of
Famer Rickey Henderson, who was a month younger
when he started in center in 2002 for the Boston Red Sox.
Ichiro went 0 for 4, dropping his average to .200, but
reached on an error and scored in the first inning, and had
four putouts in center. He has played in 63 games this
season, mostly as a pinch hitter.
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Continued from page 5
national flags or a giant ad
for mainland liquor loom
over the city in some
photos. Some British-era
icons haven’t faded over
time, like a justice statue
over the law courts, while
others show what has
disappeared, like the spot
on the wall of the City Hall
building where the colonial
insignia used to hang.
Associated Press writer Kelvin
Chan contributed to this report.
CONNECTING THROUGH CUISINE. Cristina Martinez, left, co-owner of the Mexican res-
taurant El Compadre in Philadelphia, teaches Carol Wong, center, and Wei Chen, right, how to press
tortillas during a June dinner at Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia. People of different back-
grounds are sharing meals from their cultures as part of a yearlong program called “Breaking Bread;
Breaking Barriers,” which organizers say brings people of different backgrounds together for a meal,
bridging differences one plate at a time. (Alex Styer/Bellevue Communications Group via AP)
make Chinese dumplings as the other
diners watched. Someone noted that
Polakoff’s seemed a little, well,
misshapen.
“It’s actually a hamentashen,”
Polakoff said, referring to the
tri-cornered confection associated
with the Jewish holiday of Purim.
Gathered at tables, the 40
community members shared details
about the cultural backgrounds and
favorite foods. In one grouping, the
diners — of Irish, German, Polish,
Mexican, Cambodian, and Italian
descents — talked about a dumpling
being a universal food, with multiple
cultures having a version: pierogi,
ravioli, empanadas, kreplach. The
conversation flowed thanks to a
facilitator from the Philadelphia
Commission on Human Relations.
In discussing the shared meal,
Oscar Galvan, a mechanic who is a
native of Mexico, said he was tempted
to put hot sauce on his Italian pork
dish. They also reflected on how food
related to friends and family.
“One of the neatest ways to
promote friendship is to share your
ethnic food, something you’re so
proud of,” said Carol Wong, an
educator of Chinese descent.
Everyone agreed.
“In Mexico, it’s all about food,” said
Ivette Compean, who moved to the
U.S. from Mexico six months ago.
“They’re always feeding you. It’s how
they tell us they love us.”
“Breaking Bread; Breaking Bar-
riers” was created with an $85,000
grant from the nonprofit John S. and
James L. Knight Foundation. Gupta
said he was inspired to seek the
funding after reading sociologist
Elijah Anderson’s The Cosmopolitan
Canopy/Race
and
Civility
in
Everyday Life.
Anderson,
who
lives
in
Philadelphia and taught at the
University of Pennsylvania, found
there are certain places in cities
where people of different cultures and
backgrounds unite without conflict.
Reading Terminal Market — a
bustling home to butchers and
fishmongers, sandwich stalls, and
Amish farmers — was one of them.
“It’s a place of refuge and
convergence, old and young, black
and white, coming together and
feeling good around issues of food,”
Anderson said. “It’s a place where
people get along even though we
know there are fault lines. It’s a
beautiful thing. It’s inspiring.”
The program hosted one of its most
emotional dinners in January, Gupta
said. It brought together Syrian refu-
gees and residents deeply rooted in
their northeastern Philadelphia
neighborhood. The Syrian contribu-
tions included falafel and hummus.
The American offerings were
blackened catfish and collard greens.
During the meal, held a few days
after the announcement of President
Donald Trump’s original travel ban
that included Syrian refugees, the
refugees shared stories of their lost
homes and changed lives.
At evening’s end, Gupta said, one of
the refugees — a woman in her 50s
who had been quiet during the meal
— stood up and shared her thoughts
with the help of an interpreter.
“I thought this evening was just
going to be about food,” she said. “It
turns out it was about unity.”
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