Above: Busy shoppers and vendors inside Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia. Photo courtesy of Reading Terminal Market.
Reading Terminal Market–Philadelphia's downtown destination for all things edible and beyond–is gearing up to offer community members a chance to connect through their cuisine. Slated to get underway this fall, the market is busy organizing its upcoming “Breaking Bread, Breaking Barriers” project, funded by a Knight Cities Challenge grant. Using different cultures' cooking as a starting point to open up dialogue amongst Philly's varied ethnic, economic and religious groups, Reading Terminal hopes to bridge the divides between these pockets of the population.
Over the past decade or so, Philadelphia's population has been steadily growing, partly due to an influx of young people, but also because its immigrant-friendly policies attract those seeking a new start. Representing one of the most diverse single locations in Philadelphia, Reading Terminal Market is uniquely positioned to cater to and connect these sometimes disparate segments of society.
“Food is one of the few common denominators we have left in society,” says Reading Terminal General Manager Anuj Gupta. “Every culture values good food.” Gupta explains that the market is free to enter and very affordable. With its many culinary offerings from fresh produce to ice cream, cheese, baked goods, fresh juice, coffee, delis, Amish cooking, Middle Eastern, Mexican, Indian and Pakistani food, along with much more, Reading Terminal unsurprisingly attracts a wide array of hungry visitors. This appeal makes it a destination not just for food, but for important cultural exchanges too.