Empty Bowls in Perth
Good Food, Good Friends, Good Cause! - theHumm April 2015

Empty Bowls in Perth
Good Food, Good Friends, Good Cause! - theHumm April 2015

It is the 25th year for the Empty Bowls project in North America, the 14th year for Empty Bowls Perth, and the 11th for Foodsmiths Empty Bowls fundraiser. The Empty Bowls Project began when Bloomfield (Montana) teachers asked their high school ceramic students to make bowls for a school staff luncheon. For $5 each, the guests received a meal of soup and bread, served in one of the handmade bowls. Guests were asked to accept their now empty bowls as a gift and to keep them as a reminder of all the empty bowls that still need filling. The money raised was donated to the local food bank.

The energy of those young potters, their teachers, and their guests breathed life into what has become the Empty Bowls Project. The premise of Empty Bowls is profoundly simple and has been repeated thousands of times, reminding people of the continuing hunger within their own community.

This year the founders of Empty Bowls, including John Hartom, the Montana teacher who started it all, will be remembering local Perth potter Jackie Seaton, and his particular contributions to Empty Bowls and social justice, at a special exhibition in Rhode Island.

There are two opportunities in April to support Empty Bowls in Perth.

Bring your appetite to Foodsmiths on Saturday, April 18, when the store will be hosting its 11th annual Empty Bowls fundraiser from 11am to 2pm. Foodsmiths has partnered with Empty Bowls since 2004, holding the fundraiser on site and coming up with a recipe that highlights healthy, nutritious food. This year, with the generous support of suppliers, as well as the help of store staff, a vegetarian minestrone soup will be filling locally handcrafted and unique ceramic bowls created jointly by Perth area and MERA (McDonalds Corners/Elphin Recreation & Arts) potters. This year will also include the popular “Many Hands Meet and Greet”, giving attendees a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the enormous volunteer effort and the “many hands” that work together to make Empty Bowls an ongoing success.

“The bowls this year are quite varied,” notes Molly Forsythe, the main organizer of the Foodsmiths Empty Bowls event and a MERA member. “We used a wide selection of glazes, we’ve included some traditional spatterware, and a really special addition to this year’s line-up is a select number of hand-painted bowls that are very delicate. We think we have something for everyone’s taste this year.” The bowls are set up in the store throughout the month of March prior to the event and can be purchased for $20.

Bowls will also be featured at Perth’s Festival of the Maples on Saturday, April 25, from 10am to 4pm. You will find the Empty Bowls booth in front of Riverguild Fine Crafts (51 Gore Street East). In return for a suggested donation of $20, you will receive a hand-crafted bowl of your choice and be able to fill the bowl with hearty soup or chili donated by local restaurants. To top it off (or soak it up), you will enjoy artisanal bread donated by Barnabe’s and complimentary coffee from Coutts & Company. Perth TD Canada Trust has generously offered to match the first $2,500 raised at the Festival of the Maples.

All proceeds from both events go to sustainable food programs: The Table Community Food Centre, YAK Youth Centre, Food for Thought Breakfast and Snack programs in Lanark County Schools, Lanark Highlands Food Pantry, Frontier College’s Summer Aboriginal Literacy Program, and the Guatemala Stove Project. As well, Empty Bowls is the recipient of Foodsmiths April BYOB — Bring Your Own Bag — a charity bag donation program developed by the store to encourage the re-use of grocery bags and to provide a source of funds for charitable organizations in the community. For every bag a customer re-uses, ten cents is donated by Foodsmiths to Empty Bowls.

Empty Bowls Perth has raised over $175,000. Last year’s fundraiser at Foodsmiths marked a $50,000 milestone of funds raised at the store by the event since its inception in 2004. Claire Smith, co-owner of Foodsmiths, hopes to meet, and maybe even surpass the $6100 raised by the 2014 Empty Bowls event. “We never forget that our success comes from the continued dedication and support of local potters, volunteers, our suppliers, staff, and especially our customers,” Claire points out. “Without them, we would not be able to make this fundraiser happen.”

For more information about these Empty Bowls events, please visit theHumm.com/apr2015 .

 

Sally Hansen:April Fool! - theHumm April 2015

By Sally Hansen

Art… and Soul

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Westport’sBig Fish Story - theHumm April 2015

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Folkus presents Ball & Chain, Durham County Poets
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Hiking for Hospice - theHumm April 2015

Hike for Hub Hospice Palliative Care

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Young Awards — Not Just for the Kids! - theHumm April 2015

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Peeking At the Windows - theHumm April 2015

By ByCarol A. Stephen

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All About Arbour Week
Tree Walks, Talks, and The Lorax!
- theHumm April 2015

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Toronto Welsh Choir with Kelly Sloan - theHumm April 2015

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The Perth Shoe Factory Experiment
- theHumm April 2015

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Find Humour and Pathos at The Salvage Shop - theHumm April 2015

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MVFN’s Cliff Bennett Nature Bursary - theHumm April 2015

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Check Your Selfie Before YouWreck Your Selfie - theHumm April 2015

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Brock and Brunch - theHumm April 2015

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Listen Up, Perth!
Play Explores the Lives of Local Teenagers
- theHumm April 2015

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Mississippi Mills Youth Forum: April 15 and 16 - theHumm April 2015

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Check Out a Book — Discover a Life! - theHumm April 2015

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A Treat from PPAC - theHumm April 2015

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Keep Every Plate Full - theHumm April 2015

By — Karin Nakamura

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On Being a Master Chef - theHumm April 2015

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Natural Heritage in the Carp Hills - theHumm April 2015

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Mudds Present Swamp-Dwelling Princess Tale - theHumm April 2015

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Perth Choirs Perform Music of John Rutter - theHumm April 2015

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Speaking of Volunteers - theHumm April 2015

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Volunteers work in many roles in libraries, ofte......

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Sing with the OVMF - theHumm April 2015

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Every Green Tree —

Portraits of the Wood
- theHumm April 2015

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Empty Bowls in Perth
Good Food, Good Friends, Good Cause!
- theHumm April 2015

It is the 25th year for the Empty Bowls project in North America, the 14th year for Empty Bowls Perth, and the 11th for Foodsmiths Empty Bowls fundraiser. The Empty Bowls Project began when Bloom......

...more