Nicki Boostrom was one of a dozen volunteers who showed up last Saturday at the Grand Marais Art Colony and carefully painted bowls. The colorful pottery will be used at the Empty Bowls dinner and Silent Auction on Thursday, Nov. 11. The event will be held at the First Congregational Church from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. All proceeds go to the Cook County Food Shelf.
The Empty Bowls Dinner & Silent Auction will be held next Thursday, Nov. 11, at the First Congregational Church, and it will be even bigger and better than last year.
The event, which is a fundraiser for the Cook County Food Shelf, will have two seatings this year—from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. For a $10 donation, community members can pick out a beautiful handmade bowl and get a tasty soup and bread meal too.
Amy Demmer, director of the Grand Marais Art Colony, which is organizing the event, said the two seatings will make it much easier for people to pick out their bowl and enjoy their meal without crowding.
The bowls will be put out in rotation so that the dinner crowd and the lunch crowd will both have a good selection.
A silent auction will also be held featuring special bowls donated by regional and local artists as well as gift certificates from local businesses. Proceeds from the silent auction will be used to fund next year’s Empty Bowls Dinner.
The Empty Bowls fundraiser is an important income source for the Food Shelf, said Steve Deschene, board chair. More and more people are using the Food Shelf every year, he said. Last month, for example, 100 children and 169 adults were served as compared to 75 families per month last year, 50 families per month the year before. “We’re at an alltime high,” he said.
Beth Kennedy, who is a volunteer on the Empty Bowls organizing committee, said the pattern of use for the Food Shelf has changed dramatically, too. “It’s not seasonal anymore,” she said. “People are needing food assistance all year long. People usually think that November and April are thin months (for finding a job). You don’t think that summer is a problem, but that’s when the kids are home, they’re eating all their meals at home.”
Empty Bowls will help put badly needed cash into the Food Shelf ’s coffers so it can purchase food for hungry families in the county over the winter, Deschene said. With the money generated from the event, food can be purchased directly from the Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank at a significantly lower cost.
Certainly the community has rallied to help support the hungry in Cook County. In all, 35 gallons of six different soups will be donated by 12 local restaurants. Bread, rolls and butter have been donated by local businesses as well.
The Art Colony threw open the doors of its ceramic studio last month and invited community members to come in to make a bowl or two. Theresponse was fantastic, Demmer said. Children in every school in the county are making bowls to donate to Empty Bowls as well.
In short, Empty Bowls is an important fundraiser for the Food Shelf and everyone is invited to come out and help feed the hungry on Nov. 11. For more information, call the Art Colony at 387-2737.
Hunger Facts:
We have neighbors in Cook County who are hungry tonight:
» 10% of our neighbors in Cook County are hungry every month; that does not include the ones who remain silent in their need.
» In June, 101 children and 169 adults needed the services of the Cook County Food Shelf
» Last month 155 adults and 87 children needed Food Support Benefits from Cook County Human Services » 130 Families participate in the WIC program – low-income program that supports Women, Infants and Children
» Every $5 in food support (formally food stamps) generates $9.20 in total economic activity.
» There is no reason for anyone in our community to go hungry tonight.
The hunger in Cook County is part of a larger Minnesota issue:
» 420,000 Minnesotans receive Food Support monthly
» 555,000 Minnesotans rely on food shelves monthly
» 65 million pounds of food were taken home from food shelves last year
» 178,000 Minnesotans are eligible for food stamps but aren’t getting them
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