Woodlands Secondary School’s third Empty Bowl night on Dec. 5 raised $3,600 for Loaves and Fishes community food bank.
The student council worked with Jean Kloppenburg, the school’s art and pottery teacher, to make enough ceramic bowls to host more than 150 community members for a soup and bun meal. It was a community event, the success of which only partially depended on people buying tickets.
The community supported Empty Bowl by contributing to the silent auction table, supplying 23 soups and donating all the supplies needed to create a meal. Everyone left with a full stomach and a ceramic bowl.
“The magic of the Empty Bowl night is it’s a community event from the beginning to end,” said Kloppenburg. “The fun people have making the bowls is only matched by the generosity of the soup makers and the many that contribute and purchase silent auction items.”
Wes Pascoe, a former teacher in the district, volunteered to create an Empty Bowl cookbook to sell to further support the food bank.
“We were really pleased with the turnout,” said Darby Cronan, co-president of student council. “It was really cool to have all generations there, too.”