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Empty Bowls 2019
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The Empty Bowls Steering Committee will serve up the 16th annual Empty Bowls Dinner on Saturday, Oct. 12, at Landmark College. Empty Bowls is a family-friendly evening celebrating local potters, restaurants, and businesses coming together to raise funds for the food shelf program at Groundworks Collaborative. Diners choose a handmade bowl to keep from one of hundreds of local potters and soup from roughly 20 area restaurants. The meal is rounded out with local bread, yogurt, cheese, and apples. "It's a simple and delicious meal in a beautiful bowl to take home," said Josh Davis, Groundworks' executive director. "We love the way this event brings out so many people in our community to support, not only our food shelf program, but also the arts and a love of local food." Last year - through the support of sponsors, diners, and those who could not attend, but purchased bowls - the dinner raised more than $32,000. This year, organizers hope to outraise years past as Groundworks has recently moved its food shelf program to Canal Street. The new and more accessible location opened in August at 141 Canal Street - the former home of Domino's Pizza - where Groundworks expects to serve at least 10 percent more of the community's food insecure families and individuals. Foodworks is the region's most heavily utilized food shelf program, providing supplemental food to upwards of 1000 individuals each month. "The new space allows us to do so much more with the program," said Foodworks Coordinator Christine Colascione, who has designed a small sampling station where patrons and volunteers can try out different vegetables, etc. and get ideas for meals made from items available at Foodworks. "A new waiting area with books and recipes has made the space feel warm and welcoming. We're excited to find more ways to make Foodworks an inclusive, educational, and community-building space!" Foodworks staff encourage the community to come and check out the new space, which aims to feel more like shopping a neighborhood grocery store. Patrons of Foodworks may fully "shop" the space once each month and are encouraged to come back weekly for additional produce and bread. Tickets for both the 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. seatings of the Empty Bowls Dinner are now on sale at the Brattleboro Food Co-Op, Everyone's Books, The Shoe Tree, and the Putney Food Co-Op, as well as online at: GroundworksVT.org/EVENTS. The Brattleboro Food Co-op will also host ticket and bowl sales on Sept. 17, 18, 20 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets and bowls can also be purchased at tables at the October Gallery Walk. Adult tickets are $25 in advance and $30 when purchased at the door. Youth tickets - for ages 7-15 - are available for $15. Children 6 and under are free. For $25 Groundworks can provide food for a family of five for one month. "It's such an impactful event for Foodworks," says Groundworks' Director of Development & Communications Libby Bennett. "We are grateful to all of the potters, restaurants, florists, bakeries, cheese producers, sponsors, and ticket sellers, as well as to Landmark College for hosting us and C&S, who provides a great deal of in-kind support. Everyone comes together to make this event a success so we can continue to help our neighbors in need. It's a great feeling!" Sponsors of this year's Empty Bowls Dinner include: Silver Forest of Vermont; Basketville; SIT; Trust Company of Vermont; Brattleboro Food Co-Op; Brattleboro Retreat; Brattleboro Savings & Loan; David Manning, Inc.; G.S. Precision; King Arthur Flour; Thrive, LLC; Rod's Mobil; Savings Bank of Walpole; Twice Upon A Time; Dead River Company; River Valley Credit Union; Abbiatti Monuments; Beadniks; Brattleboro Portable Storage; Brattleboro Subaru; Everyone's Books; Guilford Country Store; Howard Printing; The Kitchen Sync; Lawton Flooring; Phillips, Dunn, Shriver & Carroll; Side Hill Farm; Stop & Go Instant Oil Change; The Recker Allstate Agency; The Shoe Tree; The West River Marina; Alan Scott Auto Repair; Altiplano; Burrows Specialized Sports; Costello, Valente & Gentry, P.C.; Delectable Mountain Cloth; Richmond Auto Repair; The Richards Group; and Zephyr Designs. For more information or to volunteer at or before the Oct. 12 dinner, email EmptyBowlsSoVT@gmail.com or call 802-275-2752. Groundworks Collaborative operates the region's largest and busiest food shelf, a 30-bed year-round shelter for families and individuals (now called Groundworks Shelter), the Seasonal Overflow Shelter and Day Shelter, while providing housing case management, and a Representative Payee service. To learn more, visit: GroundworksVT.org. For more visit reformer.com
