Hopkins School District #270

What is Empty Bowls?

Since its small beginnings in 1990 at Lahser High School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, Empty Bowls has become an international grassroots project to raise funds for local food shelves. In 1999, Hopkins Public Schools art teachers and leaders in Hopkins Community Education saw the growing need for a fundraiser for hunger in our own community. Art students and community potters have been creating hundreds of unique soup bowls for the event ever since! Our bowls are daily reminders of all the empty bowls in our community and throughout the world.

Are there hungry people in our community?

• ICA Food Shelf provided 10,207 food assists in 2011, an 80% increase since 2008, and distributed $357,290 last year to assist families with rent, mortgage and utilities.
• ResourceWest connected over 10,000 area residents to the resources they needed in 2011. The resource center on Mainstreet Hopkins distributed 1,300 Second Harvest commodity food packages and 200 emergency food bags for ICA Food Shelf.

You are invited to join us the Empty Bowls fundraiser each year!  Choose your favorite handmade soup bowl, eat a simple meal of donated soup and bread, enjoy a variety of musical entertainment, and make a generous free will donation. Professional potters have donated beautiful bowls and related art for our silent auction. Proceeds will assist our local families through the support services of ICA Food Shelf and ResourceWest.