With recent natural disasters hitting other countries so hard, it may be easy to put our own community on the backburner. But upcoming fundraiser “Empty Bowls” aims to serve the Eau Claire area first.

On March 11, UW-Eau Claire’s Campus Kitchen and Art Student Association will put on its 10th annual “Empty Bowls” potluck meal, hoping to raise enough money for 190,000 meals to feed area families coping with hunger. The event will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., according to the press release issued by the Feed My People Food Bank.
The event is aimed to benefit the food bank, which delivers to 46 pantries in west-central Wisconsin. Each year the food bank distributes more than 2 million pounds of grocery products, and the Empty Bowls’ proceeds will help to continue that.

“It’s good to help the community; if we were in their situation, we’d like someone to reach out for us,” said fifth-year senior and advanced ceramics art student Caryn Konop.

The “Bowls” portion of the fundraiser’s name references the 200 ceramic bowls being used for the event, which were made by Eau Claire advanced ceramics art students. Some students got involved because assisting the fundraiser efforts satisfies service learning requirements, Konop said.

“I wanted to get involved last year but didn’t know how to throw bowls yet,” Konop said, “I’ve made between 45 and 50 bowls [for this event].”

The food at the fundraiser – soups, breads, and desserts – will be served in the decorated bowls, which can be kept with an $18 ticket that includes the price of food.