This year marks the 11th annual Empty Bowls fundraiser at Carleton College, an event which brings the community together to enjoy soup, ceramics, and help end hunger. On Friday May 13th beginning at 11:45AM, Carleton students, staff, faculty, and Northfield community members will gather on the Bald Spot to support the Northfield Community Action Center’s food shelf.
For a suggested donation of $15, attendees are able to choose a bowl hand-crafted by Carleton students and community members and fill it with homemade soups and bread. Last year, over 600 bowls were made for the event through Carleton’s Studio Art Department.
“I love the personal aspect of the event,” said Heidi Eyestone, Curator of the Visual Resources Collection in the Carleton Art Department, explaining why she loves watching people choose their unique bowl.
Last year 26 student groups, like the men’s ultimate frisbee team the Hot Karls volunteered to make soups for the event. Harrison Reeder ’15, last year’s Hot Karls’ captain, made a soup, his first time being involved on the volunteer side.
“I bought at least one bowl every year since freshman year and I have about 6 bowls from the event,” Harrison explained. When an event organizer approached him about volunteering, it was “very easy to say ‘yeah I could do that, sure!”
For Natalie Jacobson ’18, the event is important because it “brings together lots of different groups in the community.” She got involved last year with the student organization Students Organized for the Protection of the Environment (SOPE). “What makes it different from a lot of other events is that people put a lot of love into the things they create,” she explained.
Heidi Eyestone also appreciates that the event makes connections between groups in the community. “It is important to have staff seen in the same environment as students so that we can show that we care about the students and organizations like the food shelf,” she explained.
Over the past years, this popular event has raised thousands of dollars for the local food shelf. Empty Bowls is part of a national movement that is celebrating 25 years. If you’d like to learn more about the event or help make it a success, email Shira Kaufman (@kaufmans).