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Filling Empty Bowls for a cause

March 13, 2019

Delicious soup served in hand-made ceramic bowls is the perfect recipe to raise funds for the Huskie Food Pantry and Hope Haven.

Empty Bowls, a nationwide project using ceramic arts to fight hunger, comes to NIU 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 20, in the Chandelier Ballroom, Adams Hall. The way it works is you pay $10 for a ceramic bowl, which you may select, and you get unlimited soup. The soup is made by NIU Chef and Food Systems Lab Coordinator Bryan Flower.

“Each bowl you take home represents someone who is going hungry,” said Kelly Furr, president of the Student Dietetic Association. She added, Empty Bowls is a great event to support the Huskie Food Pantry, which serves NIU students experiencing food insecurity. Funds raised also go to Hope Haven, a non-profit organization helping homeless individual and families in DeKalb County.

Last year, the NIU Empty Bowls raised over $900. This year, they hope to exceed that number and will be selling raffle tickets at the event, as well as surplus bowls. 

In addition to raising funds, the event also provides NIU ceramics students with experience. Emily Rangel-Cascio, president of the Student Ceramic Arts Organization at NIU, said all the bowls for the event are produced by ceramic students. Students use the opportunity to get accustomed to throwing pottery and testing new techniques in glazing. 

“It’s good to see our work used in the community,” Rangel-Cascio said. “It’s special to own something handmade by a local artist that also supports the NIU arts programs.”

For more information about Empty Bowls, and to make a reservation (recommended but not required) for the event, email NIUSDA68@gmail.com.