Carleton College will hold its annual Empty Bowls fundraiser for the Northfield Community Action Center’s Food Shelf on Friday, May 11 from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. on the campus Bald Spot. Over 600 handmade ceramic bowls, filled with soup, will be available for sale, with a suggested donation of $15 per bowl. This popular annual event is open to the public.
Now in its eighth year, Carleton’s annual Empty Bowls Fundraiser has raised thousands of dollars for the Northfield Community Action Center’s Food Shelf. Carleton students, alumni, faculty, and friends have hand-crafted over 600 ceramic bowls, while residents of various campus interest houses join in the effort by cooking up pots of homemade soups. A suggested $15 donation will buy a simple meal of soup and bread, as well as the bowl that it was served in.
The Empty Bowls Project is a nation-wide movement that was started by a rural Michigan art teacher and his students over two decades ago. The simple concept has spread across the country, and art teachers and students now hold Empty Bowls fundraisers annually ranging from the elementary to college level.
Says Carleton art professor and coordinator of the College’s Empty Bowls Project Kelly Connole, “The empty bowls serve as a reminder that three square meals a day are often taken for granted.”
This event is sponsored by the Carleton College Department of Art and Art History. For more information or disability accommodations, call (507) 222-4341. The Bald Spot is located on the center of the Carleton campus off College Street. In the event of rain, the fundraiser will take place in the Severance Great Hall.
