THUNDER BAY - Handcrafted pottery bowls were being given to people who were doing their part to ensure that no one’s dinner bowl remains empty.
On Sunday, as part of World Food Day, the 17th annual Empty Bowls, Caring Hearts was held in a packed Moose Hall in support of Shelter House and the Thunder Bay Food Bank.
More than 350 people bought tickets for the annual fundraiser that has raised more than $235,000 in the last 16 years.
“Last year raised $19,000 and this year we re looking at quite a bit over that,” said Tanis Webster, chair of Empty Bowls Thunder Bay. “We’ve done really well.”
Empty Bowls began as an art project in Michigan in the early '90s to make ceramic bowls for a fundraising dinner to support local food banks. It is now held in cities across North America. Since 1990, Empty Bowls has raised millions of dollars to combat hunger in local communities.
The $30 ticket provides people with a dinner of soup, homemade bread, and dessert donated by local restaurants. People also receive a handcrafted pottery bowl from the Thunder Bay Potter’s Guild or a quilted placemat made by the Empty Bowls quilters.
Pyteke Blaauw, volunteer coordinator and former Empty Bowls chairwoman, has been involved with the initiative since it began in 2000. Blaauw said it is the combination of handcrafted arts and supporting a great cause that keeps bringing so many people out.
“It’s what the quilters and the potters are doing and the need to feed the hungry,” she said. “It’s the combination of social justice together with just wonderful pieces of art and quilting. We like that formulae, it seems to be working well.”
It takes more than 50 volunteers to hold the event every year, including 25 students from St. Ignatius High School, that has helped with the event since the beginning.
Webster said that the Empty Bowls fundraiser is more important now than ever, which speaks to the growing need in the community.
“The Thunder Bay Food Bank alone has grown from serving 900 people to 1,400 people,” she said. “They get a rush of food after Christmas and then it sort of peters off during the fall so it’s important for us to stock their shelves. We’re happy to have such a fantastic turnout and for the support in the community for this important cause.”
“I don’t think hunger will disappear anytime soon in this town,” Blaauw added. “So the more we can do and the more people are aware that people are going hungry the longer I stay involved.”
