EMPTY BOWLS TO FEED EMPTY STOMACHS

By DAVID MOSCA

In order for a community to thrive, its citizens must give back to their fellow residents and area. Unfortunately, there are many citizens in local communities that are not being assisted in their time of need. Right now, the inaccessibility to acquire food is a massive issue for some of Washingtonville’s inhabitants. Luckily, members of the Washingtonville community are coming together for the second year in a row to help these people fill their stomachs and feel good doing so.

The Empty Bowls Project is an international fundraising event that has one simple goal, and that is to support those struggling to obtain food on a regular basis. This is the second year Washingtonville has participated in the Empty Bowls event and both years the Washingtonville Art Honor Society has been more than happy to be the hosts for the two fundraisers. 

DAVID MOSCA FOR WIZARD WEEKLY

The President of the National Art Honor Society, Rebecca Flood, believes that Empty Bowls is “an important event.” She explained further that Empty Bowls “not only gets students involved with art, but the community involved with helping each other and those less fortunate. It’s a perfect way to boost a kid’s artistic confidence and unite the community for a night of food and fun.”

The way that the ‘Empty Bowls’ fundraiser works is a very simple concept: Washingtonville students, staff, parents, and local artists volunteer for a few hours and create beautiful ceramic bowls in the high school clay room.  This is when the bowls are molded, painted and finalized for the Empty Bowls’ event. 

Mrs. Held, Washingtonville’s clay teacher, helps the volunteers create their own unique bowls in her room. She believes that Empty Bowls and creating the bowls themselves is a great “creative expression to raise awareness to a very important cause.”

At the fundraiser, the dishes are bought by guests who attend. In return for their patronage, guests are given free food to eat, such as various chilis, soups, breads and desserts. All foods for this fundraiser are generously donated by several Washingtonville community members and businesses. When the guests finish eating, they leave with their empty bowl and a full stomach, serving as a reminder of the many citizens out there dealing with food insecurity. “This event brings together the school community with local businesses to provide enough food to feed over 300 people,” Mrs. Held happily explained. “It’s an amazing achievement when you consider that every ounce of food is generously donated.”

A student volunteer for Empty Bowls, Rebecca Rivera, had to say this about the bowl-making experience, “The experience of making a bowl is extremely fun and easy and while you’re making and selling one of those bowls it’s just really gratifying to know that someone in need will be positively effected by our actions. It’s awesome to see that something as small as a clay bowl can help the community make a change.”

The Empty Bowls Dinner/Fundraiser event will take place on Friday, March 24th, 2017, from 5:30pm to 8pm in the Washingtonville High School cafeterias. For more information, visit www.emptybowls.net.  Come and help raise awareness for food insecurity!