Nanaimo District Secondary School students will fill bowls with soup to benefit charity and raise awareness about food insecurity next week.
Empty Bowl Night takes place Wednesday, March 5, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the NDSS cafeteria, courtesy of the school's student council and pottery program. Attendees pay $20 for a bowl, which can be kept as a memento, soup and bread, all to the benefit of Loaves and Fishes Community Food Bank.
Lisa Brockley, NDSS teacher, said the international grassroots project was conceived by the Imagine/Render Group in the hopes of ending hunger.
"You get an empty bowl when you come in to symbolize hunger in our city, and then you're having a very simple meal, which is more sometimes than what people actually get in our city," said Brockley. "Hopefully taking home that bowl, you're remembering what people are going through."
Students helped to make some of the bowls, something that enabled council members to bond, said Ana Trenholm, student council vice-president, who described it as a "good team-building experience." The student council executives said Loaves and Fishes was chosen given the wide reach of its work.
"It's something that serves so many people across the community, we thought it was the best decision," said Cassidy White, student council president. "This is not the first time we've done Empty Bowl … So it was nice that we got to continue what we had started beforehand, and to keep continuity in what we were doing."
In terms of a fundraising target, Brockley said the hope is to set a record.
"We have had $5,500, which I think is the top that we've ever reached," she said. "We would love to meet or beat that number."
Members of the NDSS band will be performing, there will be a silent auction and a question-and-answer period with a Loaves and Fishes representative is planned.
Bowls from local potters are also being accepted. Tickets are available at the NDSS office during school hours and for more information, e-mail cassidy.white@learn68.ca.
