Bowls benefit raises $3,000 to fight hunger

~Artists sculpt clay as part of fund-raising event.

When Major Beth Stillwell of the Salvation Army arrived in Cape Girardeau three months ago, an Empty Bowls fund raiser was marked on her calendar.

"I had no idea what it was," she said. "I thought, 'empty bowls, what is that?'"

After the first ever Empty Bowls project on Sunday, Stillwell now knows. And she couldn't be more pleased with the event that raised more than $3,000 to fight hunger in Southeast Missouri.

In April, artists -- professional and amateur -- began sculpting bowls. Close to 400 were created for the Empty Bowls project -- an effort to raise money for local food banks through art.

On Sunday, more than 200 residents gathered at the Salvation Army Community Center and paid $10 for soup and a bowl. The money raised will go to the Salvation Army, Red Star Food Pantry and the Bootheel Food Bank in Sikeston.

"All of these agencies always have the need for funding," said Empty Bowls co-organizer Denise Lincoln, who also works at the Cape Area Family Resource Center.

Both Lincoln and Stillwell see people on a daily basis who have hunger needs.

"There are people who have to ask themselves, 'do I pay my bills or buy food?' Hunger needs are an ongoing issue," Stillwell said. "I think the Empty Bowls project was a wonderful idea and will help such a great cause."

Louise Duncan of Cape Girardeau met with a group of about six women every Thursday for the past couple months to make bowls for the fund raiser. The women, who have never worked with clay before, are part of the Senior Lunch and Learn Group at the Cape Area Family Resource Center.

"They asked us if we wanted to make bowls and we thought it was kind of silly. But then we started making them, and it was a lot of fun," Duncan said.

She she sat with her friends at Sunday's fund raiser. Each admired the bowl they had selected from the collection, and each will remember what the empty bowl means every time they look at it -- there are people whose bowls are always empty.

"This will really help a lot of people out," Duncan said.

With the success of the first Empty Bowl project, Lincoln hopes organizers can bring the event back next year.

"It's really been amazing how well the support for this event was. Now that we have the concept down, hopefully we'll be able to do it for a couple more years," Lincoln said.

Stillwell said she hopes the concept continues. "Hunger needs are 365 days a year. Food is a continuous necessity," she said.

jfreeze@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 246