RAISING AWARENESS
13th annual Empty Bowls fundraiser held Sunday
TROY, N.Y. >> Event- goers enjoyed a unique community meal for charity on Sunday at the 13th annual Empty Bowls fundraiser.
About a thousand attendees gathered Sunday afternoon at the Italian Community Center in Troy to be a part of Empty Bowls, an effort to end local hunger.
The event is hosted each year by the Collar City Clay Guild and its partners during October, which is World Hunger Month.
The potters of the Collar City Clay Guild spent months hand- throwing and creating more than 1,000 bowls to donate to Sunday’s event.
To fill those handcrafted bowls, Troy restaurants donated soups, stews, and chowders, each with their chef’s own personal touch. Bakeries also donated bread and desserts to complete the meal for event-goers.
More than a dozen Troy businesses participated for 2018 including Ale House, Brown’s Brewing Company, Carmen’s Cafe, Carol’s Place, Chom’s Cafe, Koni’s Broadway Kafe, Muddaddy Flats, Muza, Park Pub, McAddy’s Pub, Spill’n The Beans, The Ruck, and the Italian Community Center.
Each person had the opportunity to personally select their bowl from the stock and then have it filled with their choice of soups from local eateries,
“We knowmore and more people every day are having a hard time feeding their families, so we’re happy to step up and help.” — Beth Joslin, event chairperson
which all set up serving stations throughout the community center.
At the end of their meal, attendees keep their bowls as a keepsake and a reminder of those who are hungry in their community and around the world.
The purpose of Empty Bowls is to feed the hungry in the Troy area, said event chairperson Beth Joslin of the Collar City Clay Guild. “We know more and more people every day are having a hard time feeding their families, so we’re happy to step up and help.”
Officials said the Empty Bowls Project is much bigger than Troy. Around the nation, potters join together with their communities to organize Empty Bowl Projects
One of the founders of the Troy Empty Bowls effort, Dennis Smith, was honored at Sunday’s event following his death earlier this year.” We have a special raffle in his honor this year and we’re just hoping it will be another great year to honor him and all that he had done for the community. He was very involved with the Troy community,” Joslin said.
Organizers said the overall goal for the 2018 Empty Bowls was to raise approximately $20,000 to benefit food programs throughout Troy. Those programs include the Italian Community Center, Mt. Ida Community Food Pantry, Commission on Economic Opportunity, Hope 7 Food Pantry, Joseph’s House and Shelter, The Roarke Center, Troy Damien Center, Unity House, Provisions Community Food and Storehouse, Resident Empowered Action Council of Troy, St. Joseph’s Food Pantry, St. Augustine’s Church Food Pantry, TLP Food Pantry, the YMCA and the Salvation Army.
“This is a great event,” said Muddaddy Flats owner Dan Frament, who made a quinoa black bean and sundried tomato soup for the occasion. “It’s a great way to give back to the community.”
Among those soup sampling was Sara Veeder with her girls Maddie and Ruth. “We just like to support the community and give back in some way and eat soup,” she said, as they were all tasting some yummy kielbasa chowder from nearby restaurant Muza.
Another local family - Kelsey, Brandon and tod- dler Alex Willit - always come out to Empty Bowls. “We’re usually here 10 o’clock on the dot so we can get first dibs on the hand- crafted bowls,” said Kelsey, a former Troy resident that now lives in Voorheesville. “We get here before the crowd gets too wild.” After trying them all, Kelsey said her favorite soup of the day was a chicken orzo, and the boys both liked the cream of mushroom best.