FAIRMONT, W.Va. (AP) - The Empty Bowls luncheon was the last event the United Way of Marion and Taylor Counties held in 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic.
The annual fundraiser brings in a lot of donation to the nonprofit while also raising awareness about food insecurity. With many residents having lost jobs this year while, the issue of food insecurity is at a high rivaling that of the Great Depression.
“We have done a lot more with food insecurity issues,” said Emily Swain, community impact director of the United Way. “With our COVID fund, we have distributed a lot to food pantries that help people facing hunger issues, because it has been a problem this year with folks facing unemployment, their kids being out of school and having to feed more they are not used to.”
The United Way has scheduled its 2021 Empty Bowls Luncheon for Feb. 21, and Brett White, executive director of the United Way, said it may be the most important event the United Way has hosted in a while.
“Food insecurity is one of our biggest issues across the country,” White said. “This event is just so important because it helps raise awareness of food insecurity. It reminds people in our community right next door to us that can be food insecure too.”
Normally, the luncheon is held in a dining hall such as the Knights of Columbus or Fairmont State University’s Colebank Hall, but in 2021, it will take the form of a food line drive thru at Palatine Park. Several Marion County agencies have hosted food distributions in the park this year, and Swain said this will further reinforce the idea of a food line which the usual luncheon recreates.
“We will basically have a kit for people that drive through,” Swain said. “They will purchase their ticket and be able to pick what kind of soup they want, then the soup will be ready to heat and serve. Hopefully things will be better by then, but, just to be on the safe side, we are doing it that way.”
Swain also said the organization will give out its usual bowls, but people do not have to gather to paint and create them for this year’s crowd. White said the bowls themselves are still important to the message of the luncheon, and they will still act as a reminder to people who participate.
“The whole idea behind Empty Bowls is a really neat one,” White said. “Every time you look at that bowl, it’s supposed to remind you that there are empty bowls in the world that you can always help fill.”
The luncheon takes place in February following the winter holidays because food pantries start to see a drop in donations around the beginning of the year. Misty Tennant, director of the Soup Opera, has said the organization gets most of its donations around Christmas.
White said the extra money is critical for food pantries at this point, so he encourages anyone who can to buy a ticket to Empty Bowls this coming year.
“That time of the year, that is a real dip in food availability,” White said. “Food pantries, they have a real dip that time of year, so every dollar is needed and put right back to work. So we hope people will still come out and want to get a handmade bowl and some soup.”
About 425 people attended 2020’s Empty Bowls luncheon, White said, and he believes there will be a similar crowd this year. Swain said she believes many more people next year will be compelled to donate to the cause and buy tickets to the event, because they may have seen their neighbors or even family and friends go through food insecurity this year.
“I think people who maybe were not aware that it is an issue last year have seen more about it,” Swain said. “It is critical; these dollars that are raised go directly to the agencies that work with food insecurity, so anybody who has those dollars to give, this is a really good way to give back to the community.”
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