MCC to Host Empty Bowls Project Benefitting Foodshare on October 20
MANCHESTER, Conn. (October 9, 2018) – Over the last 20 years the annual Empty Bowls Project at Manchester Community College has raised more than $300,000 to benefit Foodshare, the regional food bank serving Hartford and Tolland counties.
MCC faculty, staff and other volunteers are again preparing for and will host the community on Saturday, October 20, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the college’s Culinary Arts Center. Admission is $20. Tickets can be purchased at the door or in advance at www.foodshare.org.
All proceeds from the Empty Bowls Project benefit Foodshare. “We are proud to be longstanding partners with MCC,” said Jason Jakubowski, president and CEO, Foodshare. “We look forward to this annual event. It’s a fun way to reach out to the Manchester community to help us continue to build awareness of the issue of hunger in Greater Hartford.”
The Empty Bowls Project offers guests the unique opportunity to not only partake in a hearty meal featuring soups, breads, desserts and beverages served by MCC’s Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management students, but to select and bring home a soup bowl, which is intended to remind people of all the empty bowls in food-insecure households across the region and around the world.
Bowls are donated by a variety of sources, including South Windsor, Conn.-based John Macomber, founder of Greenleaf Pottery, an artisan with 40 years’ experience and a longtime contributor of handcrafted stoneware to the MCC-hosted event. Bowls also are made and donated specifically for the event by MCC ceramics students.
They are filled at the event as a reminder that many people aren’t able to provide themselves with even a simple meal such as soup. In addition, take-home quarts of soup will be available for sale at the cost of $10, and $35 for four quarts. More than 400 people attended last year, and that event collected more than $28,000.
Foodshare also is grateful for the ongoing generous support of the Diamond Sponsors of this event, SBM Charitable Foundation, Inc., and Highland Park Market.
About Foodshare – Foodshare is leading an informed, coordinated response to hunger in our community. Foodshare is the Feeding America food bank serving Connecticut’s Hartford and Tolland counties, where 121,000 people struggle with hunger. In partnership with the food industry, donors, community leaders and volunteers, Foodshare works to maximize access to nutritious food and other resources that support food security. Last year, Foodshare distributed nearly 12 million meals worth of food to a network of 300 local food pantries, meal programs, and Mobile Foodshare sites. And, because it takes more than food to end hunger, Foodshare collaborates with anti-hunger organizations, policy makers, and the broader community to build effective solutions to end hunger. Foodshare is changing what it means to be a food bank. For more information, visit www.foodshare.org, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
