Empty Bowls

As I think about how to involve congregations in solutions that address the poverty and hunger in our community, I am taking opportunities to participate in different kinds of events and organizations that are helping hungry people in our region.

Tonight was MANNA FoodBank's 10th annual Empty Bowls event in Asheville. Apparently several hundred early birds came out at lunchtime for the traditional midday event, but my daughters and I joined another three hundred folks gathered for dinner at Manna's first evening event.

If you aren't familiar with it, Empty Bowls began more than twenty years ago. Local artists contribute more than 7,000 hours and their pottery to the Asheville event to provide guests with a bowl to take home as a reminder of all the bowls that remain empty throughout the world. Children are invited to help pack rice bags that go into the backpacks distributed to at-risk families for the weekends. 

Asheville's Mountain Xpress article explains how tonight's event kept local flavor in the event, featuring soups by area eateries like Travinia, Roux, Grove Park Inn and Swallow Soup. AB Tech's Baking and Pastry Arts program provided delicious breads and desserts from the French Broad Chocolate Lounge, Mosaic Cafe', Cold Stone Creamery and Deerpark on the Biltmore Estate were the final tastes of the evening. Throughout the night, music from "The Porch Dragons" could be heard from the "Collector's Corner" where additional bowls were for sale.

One of the things I liked about tonight was that families could participate. In addition to including children in packing the MANNA Packs, children as small as first or second grade were there and children had donated some of the bowls that were for sale. Including children reminds us all that hunger and poverty isn't just a problem for adults. 1 in 4 children in our community doesn't have enough to eat and, on average, 58 youth spend the night on the streets every night in our county.

I don't like the statistics, but something else I did like was that tonight's event was local, sponsored by local businesses, supported by local people and the proceeds will benefit individuals and families here in western North Carolina.  While Empty Bowls events happen all over the country and even internationally, ours was uniquely Asheville. The traditional craftsmanship of western North Carolina, local musicians and generous spirit of local activists all contribute to keep it that way.

There are still far too many empty bowls and events like tonight's cannot eradicate hunger and poverty, but somewhere in letting an eleven year old pick out a bowl to take home, pack a dozen bags of rice for a hungry classmate, share a soup supper, crusty bread and too many desserts, that child hears about other kids just like her except that they don't have enough to eat.  Their bowls are empty.  And hopefully then, each of us can be a little more grateful for what we have and be a little more ready to share, to speak and to act.