BECKLEY, W.Va. (AP) - To most people, it’s simply lunch. A nice, hot bowl of soup at the midday hour. The day’s second meal that will tide them over until the evening.
For others however, the contents of that bowl are the day’s only food. And that’s if they’re lucky.
It’s for those people that the Empty Bowls project originated.
Each year in communities throughout the country, groups and individuals come together to craft handmade bowls used to represent the amount of food upon which residents of Third World countries subsist each day.
The project serves as a local fundraiser to help provide food to those in need locally.
In Raleigh County, the International Quota Club of Beckley and the Youth Museum of Southern West Virginia are gearing up for their 4th annual Empty Bowls Project.
For nearly a year, church, school and civic groups, as well as individuals, have sculpted, painted and glazed close to 1,000 bowls for the event, which is scheduled for April 1 at The Place at the United Methodist Temple in Beckley.
“We started in May of last year,” Quota member and project coordinator Rebecca Beckett said, explaining the she moved the schedule up this year, as snowy winters have proven problematic in the past. “We’ve kind of turned it into a year-round event. And then the winter has been very kind to us this year, so things have gone very, very well.”
The process, she says, begins when she takes raw clay to groups and instructs them on how to make a simple bowl. Those bowls then dry for several days to a week before they are fired in a kiln. After that, they are glazed, fired again and boxed up for the big day.
Sculpting 1,000 bowls by hand is quite a task, but Beckett says getting large groups, such as campers at the 4-H Camp at Beckwith, where 150 bowls were made during the summer, helps speed things along.
And a community-glazing day on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, also helped as volunteers placed a beautiful glaze on 100 bowls in just a single day.
“They’re wonderfully colorful,” she said of the bowls. “We’ve really got some beautiful, beautiful bowls.”
At the event, guests will receive a bowl of soup provided by popular area restaurants, a piece of a dessert and a drink. Guests will also leave with their choice of one of the handcrafted bowls.
A silent auction featuring items from Indie Sparrow, Blue Magnolia, potter Jeff Diehl, and ranging from stained glass to spa certificates, teeth whitenings and jewelry is also scheduled.
“We have a variety of stuff so they’ll be something for everyone,” Quota member Angie Crook said.
More than $17,000 was raised at the 2016 Empty Bowls event. Crook said that was an increase from $15,000 in 2015 and $12,000 in 2014, the event’s first year.
“We’re shooting for $20,000 this year,” she said. “The need’s greater, so we need more money.”
All funds raised from the event will be distributed among nine Raleigh County organizations - Bread of Life in Naoma, Carpenter’s Corner, Helping Hands, the Dream Center. Sweet Hills Missionary Baptist Church, Food for Body and Soul, First Christian Church, F.O.L.K. (Feed Our Local Kids) and the Shepherd’s Table - that feed those in need.
Although the main purpose of Empty Bowls is to help feed those in need, it does so in a unique way that both Beckett and Crook say helps build a stronger community.
“We make art to help people with food,” Beckett said. “I don’t know anywhere else you can do that. “You can write a check and you can give money, but we’re making art and helping and involving so many different people from children to senior citizens.”
Crook added, “It’s teaching the arts, getting the community involved and teaching the youth about sharing and donating their time and services while feeding people who are hungry.”
Empty Bowls, sponsored by Quota, the Youth Museum of Southern West Virginia, Zen’s Café and Little General, is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Dobra Zupas, The Dish, Anita and J.P. Hunter, Raleigh County Memorial Airport, Sir Walter’s Tavern, Calacino’s, 304 Chop House and Pasquale’s will provide soup. The Raleigh County Commission on Aging will provide dessert and Chick-fil-A will provide drinks.
Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at City Slickers, Songer Insurance, from Quota members or at the door.
___
Information from: The Register-Herald, https://www.register-herald.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.