Tuscaloosa. – Ceramics students at UA have a tradition that goes back more than a decade of donating handmade ceramic bowls to a local Presbyterian church's food pantry fundraiser. Grace Presbyterian Church will host its 11th annual Empty Bowls fundraiser, a program designed to raise awareness about hunger, on Friday, March 1, 2019, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the church fellowship hall, 113 Hargrove Road in Tuscaloosa. For a suggested donation of $12, attendees can select a handmade bowl created by UA ceramics students and faculty, and will receive a meal of soup, bread, and water. The “meager meal” is intended to remind participants that food security eludes many of our West Alabama neighbors; the empty bowl shows that many go to bed hungry. Begun by ceramics professors in the late 1990s, for the past six years, Assistant Professor Matt Mitros has organized the bowl-making brigade. Mitros explains, "Each year we are approached by Grace Presbyterian to create 100 bowls. The ceramics area starts work in the fall and we usually deliver the bowls in February. The makers who contribute their work have a range of experience and expertise, from students in Introductory Ceramics to faculty." One hundred percent of the proceeds from the event will support Grace Presbyterian Church’s Fishes and Loaves Food Pantry. The Food Pantry distributes food that is purchased from the West Alabama Food Bank and every ten dollars raised via Empty Bowls translates to fifty-six pounds of purchased food. On average this important outreach program distributes two tons of food every month and serves approximately 700 persons. Professor Mitros said, "Knowing that their donated vessels will end up in homes throughout the area after the event and having the opportunity to serve the community by donating work which is used to raise money to help those in need is an important part of the experience for our students." Local businesses will be donating soups and bread for the lunch and entertainment this year will be provided by Tuscaloosa resident and Celtic musician, Jil Chambless. For more information about Grace Presbyterian and the Empty Bowls event, call (205) 758-1193 or visit www.gracetuscaloosa.org.
UA Crimson Clay Students Help Fill Up UPC’s Empty Bowls
TUSCALOOSA - University Presbyterian Church (UPC) will host Empty Bowls, a program designed to raise awareness about hunger, Friday, February 26, 2016, from 11 AM to 1:30 PM in the church fellowship hall, 1127 8th Street, Tuscaloosa. UA ceramics students and Crimson Clay members will make and donate 100 bowls to the charity event. About Empty Bowls: In 1990 a high school art teacher in Michigan helped his students solve a problem. They were searching for a way to raise funds to support a food drive. What evolved was a class project to make ceramic bowls for a fund raising meal. Guests were served a simple meal of soup and bread, and were invited to keep the bowl as a reminder of hunger in the world. Today, Empty Bowls events are held all over the United States. Thanks to the generous donation of more than 100 hand-crafted bowls from The University of Alabama’s ceramics program and Crimson Clay, donations from All Fired Up, and from individuals, University Presbyterian will again sponsor Tuscaloosa's Empty Bowls event. For a suggested donation of $10, those who attend the event will get to pick out one of the hand-crafted bowls to keep and will receive a meal of soup, bread, and water. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the event will support the UPC Food Pantry. The Food Pantry distributes food contributed by UPC's congregation and purchased from the West Alabama Food Bank. This important outreach program provides food for approximately 600 people every month. A Facebook Event page is here. Entertainment for this year’s Empty Bowl’s event will be provided by local/area Celtic artists, Jil Chambless and Scooter Muse. Tickets to the event are available in advance from UPC members and from the church, 1127 Eighth Street, two blocks south of The Strip. Tickets will also be available at the door starting at 10 a.m. on Friday, February 26. Local businesses will be donating soups and bread for the lunch. For more information about the national Empty Bowls project, visit www.emptybowls.net or write to Empty Bowls at P.O. Box 1689, Burnsville, NC 28714. For more information about UPC and Tuscaloosa's Empty Bowls event, call (205) 758-5422. For information about last year's Empty Bowls event in Tuscaloosa, click here.
UA Ceramics Students Craft Empty Bowls to Fill Need
Last week, ceramics students in the Department of Art and Art History donated handmade ceramic soup bowls to the 5th Annual Empty Bowls event hosted by the University Presbyterian Church, helping to raise more than $1,000 for food charities in our community. Studio art graduate students in ceramics Sydney Ewerth, Joani Inglett and Heather Whidden, and undergraduates Jenna Cape, Kelby Cox, Meg Howton, Birgitte Kalmbach, Nicole Welch and Kady Wohlfarth, along with members of Kentuck’s Clay Co-op and patrons of All Fired Up! contributed bowls to this year’s event on April 10. Local chefs and restaurants in Tuscaloosa donated soup and musicians Jil Chambless and Scooter Muse entertained diners to help raise money for University Presbyterian’s Food Pantry and West Alabama Food Bank. Tuscaloosa’s Empty Bowls is part of a national campaign that engages the arts community to help fight hunger. For $10, donor-diners chose one of dozens of beautiful handmade bowls and received a simple meal of bread and soup. Ann Webb, retired Director of Undergraduate Research and the Emerging Scholars Program in the College of Arts and Sciences, helped organize this local Empty Bowls. She said the money raised by this year's event “translates into a lot of food from the West Alabama Food Bank. The church buys food from the Food Bank and distributes it to people in the community who are in need.” Money raised will allow the church to purchase and distribute more than 100,000 pounds of food from WAFB. It all started five years ago when Webb saw an Empty Bowls event in Asheville, NC. She proposed to ceramics professor Lowell Baker that UA ceramic students join the event sponsored by University Presbyterian Church. When Baker retired from UA, Daniel Livingston, adjunct instructor of ceramics, continued the department’s participation. Our current assistant professor of ceramics, Matt Mitros, has brought a new wave of students to participate. Webb said that the program is a much-needed joint effort among local people, businesses and students from the university. She and the other organizers of Tuscaloosa’s Empty Bowls welcome the students’ enthusiastic participation in this community project: “The bowls this year were especially interesting and creative,” she added, “with lots of color and a big dash of good humor. I am immensely appreciative of their giving their time and energies to this good project.” Several individuals and local restaurants contributed soup including Surin of Thailand, Chuck’s Fish, Zoe’s Kitchen, Manna Grocery and The Cypress Inn. Webb explained how vital this effort is: “The food bank is very important to this community. I am both surprised and saddened by the extent of the need for food in our community. The level of need is shocking and I am so glad that UA students contribute through programs like Empty Bowls and Beat Auburn, Beat Hunger.” April 15, 2015