PVCC Puma Press: October 2003

Hundreds of people participated in the Empty Bowls event at PVCC on Oct. 14 and 15, raising $1,600 for the fight against hunger.

For a $5 donation, students and faculty could take home a handcrafted ceramic bowl filled with soup.

"The bowl of soup represents that for millions of people around the world 500 calories is all they get," explains David Bradley, fine arts faculty and event coordinator. "The bowl is a tangible reminder that this not a lot of food, but for some people this is all they get."

All proceeds from Empty Bowls are given to the Foothills Food Bank in Cave Creek, a non-profit organization that assists families in the North Valley and Cave Creek area. Volunteers from the food bank collected donations, helped serve soup and wrapped customers' purchases.

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Photo by Jeopardy Jaramillo
Fine arts faculty and event coordinator David Bradley ladles soup into a ceramic bowl.
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"The proceeds are of great use to us," says Pam DiPietro, executive director of the Foothills Food Bank. "We help families with financial assistance [for bills], such as utilities, and the need is growing,"

Over 300 bowls created by faculty, students and Arizona Clay members were presented in the event. Aramark provided the soup and the Student Life Center assisted in the coordination.

"As artists, we aren't able to donate money, but we can make bowls that people can enjoy forever," Bradley says.

This fundraising idea has become such a success at PVCC that another Empty Bowls event will be held in the Spring.

The Empty Bowls concept originated in 1990 in Michigan as a high school art teacher's class project. While searching for a new way to raise funds for a local food drive, the class developed the concept of making ceramic bowls, filling them with soup and selling them to benefit organizations that fight hunger. The Imagine Render group was formed soon after in order to promote the event.

Today, over 1,000 events are held nationwide in conjunction with World Food Day on Oct. 16. These account for millions of dollars raised to help the hungry.