FIGHTING HUNGER

ECU holds second Empty Bowls event

Members of the East Carolina University community joined in the second annual Empty Bowls event on campus Feb. 7.

Empty Bowls is an international grassroots effort to raise money while reminding participants of all the empty bowls in the world. Guests purchase tickets for a meal of soup and bread, along with a handmade bowl. At ECU the bowls were donated by the ECU Ceramics Guild.

“Empty Bowls is a wonderfully unique fundraiser that gives our community a chance to come together and help those in need,” said Sara Kurtz, president of the ECU Ceramics Guild.  “Service is a big part of the mission of the Ceramics Guild and we are thrilled to be a part of this event.”

All funds were donated to the Greenville Food Bank to combat hunger in the community. Mary Esther Baker, development officer for the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina, said the organization was grateful for fundraisers like Empty Bowls, which “create awareness of hunger in the community and raise funds to support our mission: ‘No one goes hungry in central & eastern North Carolina.’

“There are more than 100,000 of our neighbors in eastern North Carolina for whom food insecurity is a daily reality,” Baker said.

The event was sponsored by ECU Campus Living and Dining and the ECU Ceramics Guild. Local sponsors included Peasant’s Pub, Starlight Café, The Scullery, Winslow’s, The Tipsy Teapot, Starbucks, UBE, La Bendicion bakery and ARAMARK.