Filling Once Empty Bowls

The ESU Art Department made bowls to give away at the Empty Bowls event last Thursday. Photo Credit / Crystal Smith
The ESU Art Department made bowls to give away at the Empty Bowls event last Thursday. Photo Credit / Crystal Smith
The ESU Art Department made bowls to give away at the Empty Bowls event last Thursday.
Photo Credit / Crystal Smith

By Justin Smith

SC Staff Writer

On Thursday, March 26, East Stroudsburg University held its annual Empty Bowls fundraiser in the Keystone room.

All proceeds generated were donated to the East Stroudsburg Salvation Army food bank.

Empty Bowls is a grassroots movement to help end hunger by filling one empty bowl at a time. The organization is currently celebrating its 25 anniversary and has movements at major universities and similar institutions all across the country this week to celebrate the benchmark.

Upon entrance to the Empty Bowls gathering, attendees were greeted at the door and handed a ticket to present to the staff when they found a bowl that caught their interest. With ticket in hand, attendees were then greeted by Andrea Boccelli softly playing over the speakers and green décor to match the colors of the event.

They were then led to a table bearing dozens of bowls from which to choose. Coffee and other refreshments were available for attendees to consume at their leisure as they browsed the dozens of available bowls.

The bowls the attendees were able to choose from were hand crafted by students and faculty from the Art department. They were crafted to have warm colors and designs and represent the colors of spring.

After the attendees were able to hand pick their bowl, they were invited to sit down for lunch sponsored by the Hotel Tourism Restaurant and Management department. On the menu was a selection of handcrafted soups that included chicken noodle, beef barley, French onion, and vegetarian French onion. For dessert, there was applesauce and cinnamon pita chips on the side.

Another way the Empty Bowls event was able to raise money was the silent auction table, with the proceeds generated also being donated to the Salvation Army. Up for auction were a handcrafted teapot and mug set, a handcrafted mug set, $25 Carrabba’s Gift Card, a Great Wolf Waterpark package containing two admission tickets, towels and other essentials for a day in the waterpark, two Starbucks tea sets, $25 Barnes and Noble gift card, and a Pier 1 Imports Bath Set.

Dr. Bradford Seid, Dean Robert Fleischman, and Dr. Robert McMullin addressed the audience once lunch had commenced, acknowledging key departments and students who worked tirelessly to make the event happen.

The most valuable quote from the day came from Dean Robert Fleischman who said, “Today the bowls are not empty, the bowls are full.”

Email Justin at:

jsmith186@live.esu.edu