Choose a bowl you like, make a donation, eat and enjoy a well prepared meal of soup and bread then leave with a clean conscious and your bowl empty. Empty Bowls is an event that takes place every year at Powderhorn park and helps to raise money to feed those less fortunate in the community.
Empty Bowls started in the 80s in the East coast, and now spread all over the world. In Minneapolis the Powderhorn Park has hosted the event for four years now and continues to have a good turnout.
Last year “Empty Bowls” raised 20,00 dollars to support food shelves to help feed the hungry community. “What Empty Bowls is, is a bunch of local artists that get together and create lots of bowls which then they donate to the food shelf program” said South ceramics teacher Denny Sponslor. “It is important for any school to help their community when there are people in a community who don’t have food, and it is good to be empathic and feel other peoples pain.”
On November 5 there will be around 1200 bowls donated to the event so that people can pick and choose their favorite ones to eat from. Many of the volunteers are neighbors and South students.
Senior Paul Hagen is one of those volunteers, “I volunteer for Empty Bowls to help feed people, its fun and I’m making a difference.” said Hagen. Making a difference is exactly what the event does, even if its simply adding joy and warmth to someones day.
The genuine warm and giving energy that the setting of the event creates is something that can’t go un-noticed when attending. Even walking into the park building guests are greeted by friendly faces of volunteers who are there for the sole purpose of contributing to the positive.
Upon entering the large room, the first thing in sight is four long tables covered with hundreds of beautiful bowls for anyone to choose from. To make the experience even more convenient there are volunteers on standby to answer any questions on each and every bowl, as well as wash the bowl before and after an individual eats out of it
On top of deciding the bowl you desire most, the event also presented the guests with eight different soups and bread to choose from. The cooks served all of the warm delicious soup and were also more than happy to answer any questions.
Every year, Empty Bowls has a large amount of people socializing, enjoying their soup and their beautiful hand crafted bowls. “I started volunteering for Empty Bowls four years ago, because I was new to the neighborhood and I thought that it would be a way to connect with other folks,” said coordinator and volunteer Monica McDaniel, “It is very important To give back and raise awareness and money for those who are having a hard time.”
Hopefully this year you were able to enjoy your soup, new bowl and social time at Empty Bowls, but if not there is always next year. Look forward to good food, good company and the good feeling of giving back.
