The Empty Bowls lunch, will be Saturday Nov. 23, from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. at the Fine Arts Patio.
Empty Bowls is a program where local artisans create pieces of pottery, which are then sold to the public. All proceeds go towards feeding the less fortunate of their local community.
Since 2003, hundreds of hand-crafted pottery have been sold in Weakley County, with proceeds going to the We Care Ministry Food Bank in Martin. We Care Ministries recently used some of the money from Empty Bowls to purchase a walk in freezer, in which they store meat they receive from another local program, Hunters for the Hungry.
Empty Bowls first began in 2003. Local potter, David Macbeth, approached his pastor at Trinity Presbyterian Church with the program idea. This year will mark the tenth year anniversary for the community wide event.
The Wesley Foundation in Martin has served as the chief sponsor for Empty Bowls, and in the past, the event took place at the Wesley house. As noted before, this year Empty Bowls will take place on UTM’s campus.
Wesley coordinator, Becca Russell, explains the change.
“We feel it is only right to honor David MacBeth and all the hard work that he and his students has done to make Empty Bowls a reality by moving the meal to his studio. This will give patrons an opportunity to see where David and his students craft these one-of-a-kind bowls,” Russell said.
In addition, Russell shares some insight as to the significance of Empty Bowls, and the local community.
“What I love about Empty Bowls is that it draws our community together. Virtually all the churches participate and help provide soup, and this year we even have some local businesses serving as sponsors,” Russell said.
For a $10 donation, each person will receive a handcrafted bowl, as well as soup, crackers and a drink. In addition, you can purchase a T-shirt for an additional cost of $10. The T-shirt commemorates the 10 year anniversary of the Empty Bowls event.
If there is inclement weather, the program will be moved indoors to the ceramic studio.
