Salvation Army fills Empty Bowls at annual event

The eighth annual Empty Bowls Banquet on Sunday at the Salvation Army Worship and Community Center was multifaceted, but its principal significance was as an emblem of the need for charity in Southeast Missouri, participants said.

Feeding vegetable and bean chowder soup to an estimated 200 people from noon to 2 p.m. at the 701 Good Hope St. center, the event started the Salvation Army's red kettle Christmas campaign at area businesses.

Aiming to match the $6,700 raised last year, it also is related to a silent auction of 15 handmade bowls through Dec. 6 at the Arts Council at 32 N. Main St. and the Salvation Army booth at the Arts Council-sponsored craft show Nov. 23 and 24 at the Osage Centre, 1625 N. Kingshighway.

Proceeds finance the organization's Meals with Friends program, which serves 800 to 1,000 meals per month to people who might otherwise go hungry.

Local artisan Linda Bohnsack made 200 bowls to be given with the meals, and she said the volunteers who helped her paint them typify the campaign. "Everyone involved is volunteering their time," said Bohnsack, a member of the Salvation Army Advisory Board.

Volunteer Jenna Risch dishes out vegetable soup. (Adam Vogler)

"They feel more committed when they put their own time into it."

Bowls also will be sold in Bohnsack's 821-A Broadway store, Artisan Gifts, until Christmas.

Southeast Missouri State University students supervised by Dr. Anne Marietta, associate professor of nutrition and dietetics, and hospital management instructor Lisa Essmyer cooked the soups, rolls, cornbread and chocolate cake, which were served with water and pink lemonade.

Two Southeast seniors who had helped unpack the bowls, Erin Pennington of Doniphan, Mo., and Kayla Johnson of Centralia, Ill., said the experience was heartening.

"We're feeding Cape Girardeau and helping our own community," Pennington said.

"It's really cool," Johnson said. "It's something tangible to show support."

Debbie Fulton and Don and Jo Anne Dickerson had been taking part in the banquet since its inception. "There is a great need here in Southeast Missouri," Fulton said.

"The food is simple and basic, and it reminds us that some people have an empty bowl at their house," she said.

"It's fun," Jo Anne Dickerson said. "The food is delicious, the bowls are beautiful and you get to see a lot of friends."

Don Dickerson said he enjoys supporting the banquet because 82 cents of every dollar the Salvation Army spends supports its services.

Jim and Leslie Fox of Alma, Mich., first-time participants with Bill and Susan Cole and the Coles' son Chris of Cape Girardeau, said the $12 ticket was a good value with the bowls' being included.

"It's a great community project," Susan Cole said. "The Salvation Army is a good benefit."

Leslie Cox said she recently had watched a PBS program from Detroit about the Salvation Army's fundraising bowls but had not personally seen the project.

Pertinent address:

701 Good Hope St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.

1625 N. Kingshighway, Cape Girardeau, Mo.

821-A Broadway, Cape Girardeau, Mo.