Fundraiser a community affair

Annual Empty Bowls fundraiser supports Community Kitchen

TORRINGTON — The annual Empty Bowls fundraiser was held Thursday in the Elks Lodge on Litchfield Street. Local residents gathered together in fellowship to support the Community Kitchen of Torrington.

Food Service Director Lisa Hageman said this is the fourth year the kitchen has participated in the event, and that it is one of its major fundraisers during the year.

For a $20 donation, each guest received a ceramic bowl, created by local high school students and area potters.

The soup, bread, desserts and coffee provided at the dinner were all donated by area restaurants and bakeries.

The Community Kitchen of Torrington, located on Maiden Lane in the basement of Trinity Episcopal Church, provides more than 50,000 meals a year to the city’s needier residents.

The Community Kitchen of Torrington does not receive any federal, state, or municipal funds and depends on donations from the city’s residents to stay afloat.

Call 860-482-0356 for more information.

The Empty Bowls Project was founded by Imagine/Render, a nonprofit organization, according to emptybowls.net.

Its mission is to create positive and lasting social change through the arts, education and projects that build community.

Empty Bowls started as a classroom project, but the movement has spread across the United States and to at least 14 other countries.

Events vary between locations because they are independently organized, but all share the Empty Bowls name and mission.

Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media The annual Empty Bowls fundraiser was held Thursday evening in the Elks Lodge on Litchfield Street, as local residents gathered together in fellowship to support the Community Kitchen of Torrington.

Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media The annual Empty Bowls fundraiser was held Thursday in support of the Community Kitchen of Torrington.