April 20, 2005
Bowls fulfilling project
Empty Bowls Project outreach fund-raiser dinner for Fresh Food Partnership
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
For the third year, the Empty Bowls Project has combined art with outreach, soup with service.
The event this year worked to match 510 bowls, made by volunteers around the community, with nearly 300 people who came to the Park Place Dome Sunday afternoon. There, attendees paid $15 for a ticket that entitled them to a one-of-a-kind bowl, plus a bowl of soup as well as bread and coffee. Proceeds from the event benefit the Fresh Food Partnership, an organization that brings fresh, locally-grown produce to needy families via area food pantries.
Browsing among the bowls, which ranged from the serious to the whimsical, staid to standout, made choosing difficult for some. Sisters Sarah and Hannah Krohn pondered their annual choice with great seriousness.
"I'm looking for something that's me, something maybe bright to hold my tidbits in," said Sarah, 12, as her sister, 7, tried to choose between two favorites.
Cynthia Krohn of Traverse City said her family has participated in the Empty Bowls Project for each of the past three years.
"I get a bowl for each of them every year just because I think it's a wonderful thing to support," she said.
With a goal this year of meeting or exceeding last year's $7,000, project organizers believe they are on track to do that. One boost came from a woman who spent $500 to purchase 30 bowls, which organizer Robin Nance said she planned to give away as Christmas presents.
"There were many people who went out with many bowls," noted Nance, a member of the Northern Michigan Potters and Sculptors Guild.
More than 30 businesses donated soup, bread or coffee for the Empty Bowls Project. In addition, 24 individuals or businesses paid $100 each to sponsor a table, providing another revenue stream for the event.
Nance brought the Empty Bowls idea to the area three years ago, when the Fresh Food Partnership was just beginning. Since then, the annual event has become the major fund-raiser for the Fresh Food Partnership. In 2004, the partnership purchased approximately 50,000 pounds of locally-grown fruits and vegetables from area farmers. This food turned into meals for more than 10,000 people experiencing a food crisis.
Members of the Fresh Food Partnership include Land Information Access Association, Michigan State University Extension, Northwest Michigan Human Services Agency, the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce and the United Way of Northwest Michigan.
As this year's Empty Bowls Project approached, Nance said that donated bowls began appearing on her porch about a month ago. They came from area artists, other guild members and area high school art students.
Suttons Bay High School students have sent many bowls over the years and this year for the first time students from the Interlochen Arts Academy participated. Members of the Potters & Sculptors Guild held work bees and also visited schools to teach about pottery while encouraging students to make donations.
The Empty Bowls project does not have size or style requirements to artists and the resulting variety is part of the event's charm. Even the realm of materials is open to the artist's interpretation as more than clay items are welcome.
"We don't give any recommendations, they can be not even ceramic or food safe," said Nance, though those bowls are clearly marked as such. "If there's an artist that can turn them out of wood or whatever, that's great."
"It's more having to do with the symbolism of the bowls, feeding the hungry," she added.
Potter Jean Lefebvre of Traverse City made 43 pieces for the Empty Bowls Project, spurred by the desire to help others. A member of the Northern Michigan Potters & Sculptors Guild since last year, she made a series of cup-of-soup-sized bowls. Lefebvre enjoyed watching people choose 'their' bowl while volunteering at Sunday's event.
"Everybody has a bowl that speaks to them and some have three or four that speak to them," she said.