Empty bowls
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
“Empty Bowls” is an international project to fight hunger, personalized on a community level. The concept for “Empty Bowls” is simple. Participating artists create and donate ceramic bowls, then serve a simple meal. Guests choose a bowl to use that day and to keep as a reminder of all the empty bowls in the world. In exchange for the meal, and the bowl, guests give a suggested minimum donation. The meal's proceeds are given to local hunger-fighting organizations, such as food banks or soup kitchens, or to national or international charitable groups.
“Empty Bowls” events can be sponsored by local potters and artists organizations, churches, community service organizations and schools. The expressed objectives of “Empty Bowls” are:
- Raise as much money as possible to feed the world's hungry people. Lives are in the balance.
- Increase awareness of hunger and related issues. Through education, awareness, and action, concerned individuals can change human attitudes that allow hunger to exist.
- Advocate for arts education. Nurturing the creative process through the arts enhances the possibility of finding new solutions to old problems.
The project was initiated by Michigan art teacher John Harton. During the 1990-91 school year, the high school teacher joined a drive to raise charitable funds in his community. Harton's idea was to give artists and students a way to make a personal difference. In his art classes, Harton's students made ceramic bowls. The finished products were then used as serving pieces for a fund-raising meal of soup and bread, and guests kept the empty bowl.
By the following year, Harton and other participants developed this concept into “Empty Bowls.” Although the Imagine/RENDER Group, a 501(c)3 organization, was created to promote the project, each community’s events are self developed and independent. This project expands one group of concerned artists and students at a time, and events are held in many areas in the United States and Canada, often in conjunction with the United Nations sponsored World Food Day. “Empty Bowls” now supports food related charities around the world and has raised millions of dollars to aid in the fight against hunger.
