EMPTY BOWLS GOES MOBILE
Tickets still available for 14th annual fundraiser
Coming up on Oct. 3, the Plowshares Peace and Justice Center will host a modified, drive-thru version of their annual Empty Bowls fundraiser featuring locally hand-crafted bowls, homemade soups, and tri-tip dinner with all the fixings.
Michelle Shaw, who has been Plowshares’ executive director since 2018, notes that the kitchen has seen an increase in daily traffic since the start of the pandemic. “We do have our regulars who come through, but more people are coming in that aren’t necessarily homeless who are just struggling to make ends meet.” Monthly traffic has increased by more than 1,000 meals per month than before the start of the COVID-19
pandemic.
After erecting a 30-foot plastic wall around the food line and coming up with an action plan
to keep people safe, the kitchen is still fully operational and offering all programs as before.
When people come to Plowshares for a meal, they are first greeted by a staff member who asks them to put on a mask, wash their hands, and advises them to stay six-feet apart and stay behind the plastic shield.
The kitchen now offers guests the option to take a meal to go, if they choose. “If someone has a place they feel safe eating at, they can take a meal to go,” says Shaw adding, “even though we are seeing more people come through who are needing meals, we haven’t seen an increase in people gathering.”
For the past few months, food donations have been scarce, forcing the kitchen to dip into funds to purchase more product than usual, but the community is still helping out. Money raised from the Empty Bowls Fundraiser “goes towards ful
filling our mission that no one in our community go hungry,” says Shaw.
The Empty Bowls fundraiser is the signature event for Plowshares, which operates a local community dining room and Mealson-wheels program serving over 60,000 meals each year to those in need in the community. Plowshares also provides community service and work release programs, and serves as a hub for local resources.
As in previous years, ticket holders will receive a handcrafted bowl to keep from either Jan Hoyman or the Mendocino College Ceramic Club. The meal option will include a soup, minestrone this year, and a BBQ tri-tip dinner with all of the fixings for two. Ticket holders will also have the option to choose a bottle of wine or a six-pack of beer to enjoy with their meal. Pick-up times are between 4 and 7 p.m.
Local favorites Waylon and the Wildcats will perform live music in the parking lot as people pull up to pick up their food.
Adventist Health, Hunger Express, and Mendocino Chef will provide soup, and wine for the event will be donated by Fetzer, Husch, and other local wineries. The beer option will be from North Coast Brewery and Bear Republic.
Tickets can be purchased online at https://www.plowsharesfeeds.org/ or by calling 707- 462- 8582. Tickets will also be available at the door on a first- come, firstserved basis.