History | National Empty Bowls Project

The National Empty Bowls Project originated from a small art class in November of 1990 when John Harton from Michigan led his high school students in a local food drive project. Harton was an Art teacher at Lahser High. He and his wife, Lisa Blackburn, advocated for those suffering from chronic hunger in their community and wished to spread awareness of the issue. Lisa was also a teacher at Lasher High and supported Mr. Hartom from the beginning. The couple decided to get their school involved in the food drive and came up with a plan to fight world hunger as Hartom strongly believed that its cause was “not from a lack of food, but the problem with food distribution.”

To help fundraise for the food drive, Hartom incorporated his creativity into the project alongside his students. This project planned to craft bowls out of clay with his students and put those bowls into use. They invited other teachers and staff for lunch and served them a simple meal of bread and soup with the bowls in exchange for donations. During the event, Mr. and Mrs. Hartom gave a speech about world hunger to those who attended the event. They emphasized how those in their community were suffering from hunger because they still had “empty bowls.” They wrapped up the event by inviting the guests to keep their bowls as a reminder of world hunger. The effort of Hartom using the bowls to symbolize hunger caused a moment of silence from the audience, which helped Hartom acknowledge that this event had just greatly influenced those in their community. Recognizing this, they realized that they must expand and continue to carry on this project.

The project demonstrated Mr. and Mrs. Hartom's compassion for those who struggled with hunger around the world. Within the following year, they were able to expand the project to support other food banks and organizations with global hunger. This concept quickly developed into a non-profit organization known as Empty Bowls, and they raised more than $1 million for World Food Day on October 16. World Food Day is a national celebration that promotes hunger through fun activities such as marathons or marches, exhibitions, and art performances, in over 150 countries. The Empty Bowls has slowly grown and become a national project over the course of years. And by 1999, Hartom finally decided to retire from the school to shift his focus to the Empty Bowls Project. Schools from all educational levels across the country began participating in Empty Bowls.

St. Kate's University is one of those institutions still supporting the National Empty Bowls Project. This idea came to life by the St. Kate's Clay Club members in 2011. They joined hands with Open Arms of Minnesota, a non-profit organization that provides free meals to those suffering from illnesses or their caregivers from the Twin Cities area. And because Open Arms of MN focuses on meeting the nutritional needs of its recipients, St. Kate's students believed that they would be a promising organization to work with. The collaboration between St. Kate's Empty Bowls Project and Open Arms of MN was significantly effective during COVID-19.

Early-On Organizations and Food Banks x Empty Bowls Project

The National Empty Bowls project accepts all kinds of donations, such as auctions or art sales from various donors held in different cities. Various sponsorship organizations then donate their funds to local food banks or other locations such as soup kitchens or shelters. These organizations have raised millions of funds to provide fresh groceries or canned foods for the hungry.

In the year of 2000, the Hunger Prevention Partnership was formed and began organizing the Empty Bowls Portage County in 2001. Their goal was to find short and long-term solutions to fight against hunger and poverty. Those who were involved within the organization identified as public and private sectors and individual consumers. The concept was very similar in this organization and other organizations, offering a wide selection of hand-crafted ceramic bowls made and designed by students or potters, and providing a soup social event for the guests, in exchange for their donations.

Another well-known organization that serves its local community is the Tarrant Area Food Bank from Texas. They aim to empower their communities by providing resources such as food and education for those who suffer from severe hunger, low-income households, the elderly, the chronically ill or disabled, the homeless, and victims of family violence or disasters. This organization was founded by a group of residents from Fort Worth in 1982, and has expanded their services to 13 counties in Texas. They fundraise for the Empty Bowls project annually and offer partnership opportunities for many restaurants to help feed the hungry.

The National Empty Bowls Project has only continued to grow. As Hartom emphasized, "the empty bowl has become a metaphor for the power people feel when they help erase world hunger." People from different parts of the world are now involved and uniting their communities to raise millions of dollars from charitable organizations with the Empty Bowls Project to help and provide meals for the hungry.

In 1990, one Michigan highschool teacher by the name of John Hartom had a seedling of an idea that went on to become a massive tree of influence over the nation to bring awareness to hunger as a result of improper food distribution and food insecurity. The idea began with linking the raising of funds for a food drive to the image of an empty bowl; thus, the empty bowl project concept was born.

The first event hosted by Mr. Hartom that would inspire many others to follow involved highschool students making ceramic bowls followed by the hosting of a soup lunch for students and teachers. Those in attendance were encouraged to provide donations for the bowls and take them home as reminders of the hunger that continues to exist in the world. Eventually, the project became a non-profit organization and inspired many across the nation to follow suit in hosting events while using the trademark - for instance, the St. Kate’s Empty Bowls Project. This project not only significantly impacts those organizations receiving raised funds and working to combat hunger, but also continues to change the lives of all involved in the project. This article provides true testimonials from three such people, to include Megan White of Open Arms of Minnesota, Mary Holmgren of the MN Orono schools, and Kelly Connole of Carleton College in Northfield, MN.

Megan White, the Institutional Relations Manager at Open Arms of Minnesota, has had a lasting connection to the Empty Bowls Project, specifically through the St. Kate’s Empty Bowls Project (SKEBP). All of the funds raised through events hosted by SKEBP are sent to Open Arms, a non-profit organization working to diminish food insecurity amongst those MN residents who suffer from chronic illnesses and struggle to receive the care and support they need in terms of food. The operations of this fight carried out by Open Arms includes the fresh preparation and delivery of specially designed meals for various nutritional needs. Having had 62,400+ hours put into preparing and delivering over 9,000,000 meals across 35+ years (793,873 meals in 2021 alone!), the organization relies on the generosity of both temporal and monetary donors, whether they be an individual looking to help where they can or another project, event, or organization raising funds such as the SKEBP. In describing the impact that SKEBP had on Open Arms, Ms. White explained that when Open Arms first began, their deliveries were limited to those suffering from HIV/AIDS, but through the support of SKEBP during the last 11 years, Open Arms has been able to extend beyond that population and include other victims of chronic illnesses to include, but not limited to, cancer, MS, ALS, ESRD, CHF, and COPD. Through further collaboration, SKEBP and Open Arms together hosted a virtual Empty Bowls event during the pandemic and one St. Kate’s student in particular combined her creativity and generosity to design a bench and donate it to Open Arms as a testament to the impact the two organizations had on students.

As revealed above, the empty bowls projects don’t just impact those individuals or organizations receiving funds to combat food insecurity, it also changes the lives of those involved in the programs. Mary Holmgren, a retired teacher of the MN Orono schools, testified to the impact the project had on herself and her students. In an interview with Ms. Holmgren, she described the Empty Bowls events that she hosted and pointed out the uniqueness of her projects in that they began with character education, a treasured aspect of learning in the Orono Schools, values of which include trustworthiness, responsibility, respect, fairness, caring, and citizenship. The project began with the students’ team effort of making the bowls in a creatively designed environment which included work tables labeled with the core values. This design prompted discussion of the character traits and how they can be related to the project at hand and to food insecurity. As time went on and Ms. Holmgren found herself hosting more and more events, she described the impact the empty bowls projects had on her and her students as coming to the realization of how truly appreciative the community was in receiving the funds raised through the generous donations made at the empty bowls events.

The testimonials to the impact of the empty bowls projects are seemingly endless, so in conclusion, here is just one more of thousands across the nation - Kelly Connole of Carleton College in Northfield, MN. When interviewing Kelly, the joy she takes in her ceramics career truly beamed through the smile she maintained throughout our conversation. She described ceramics as a field that is rooted in an open and friendly place, and what better of a place than to grow a project such as empty bowls? She clarified that not everyone has the same experience, though that environment of openness and kindness is regularly fostered in the field. Having run many of the empty bowls projects at Carleton, Kelly was able to witness its significant growth over the years. Most of the events that she and her students hosted were meals in conjunction with the selling of the bowls for donations, but she explained that the dinner is not the most important part; rather, it is the learning that occurs in all participating, whether it be in education on food insecurity, awareness, general information about the project, etc. She commented that in support of this education, what better metaphor for hunger than the “empty bowl”? This education is closely paired with impact, and in describing the personal impact the project had on her, Ms. Connole explained that it changed her as a teacher - “art teaches a different way of knowing.” She had the privilege of witnessing through the projects the power of collaboration as well as the beauty of an idea generated by one Michigan highschool teacher, John Hartom, and an idea that was given the freedom to grow.

Empty Bowls has grown immensely throughout the world, starting with an idea by John Hartom to feed the hungry by increasing food distribution. Today St. Catherine University has joined this mission, and you can too.

Empty Bowls began as an idea but has now evolved into a global project, affecting millions of lives. It is dedicated to uniting events for the common cause of ending hunger and sharing cultures. Founder John Hartom believes that hunger will end when communities unite to distribute food because the problem “is not a lack of food, but food distribution.”

Individual Empty Bowls events may vary slightly but all are organized around the central theme of reminding others of the existent hunger in communities. While those who participate in the event walk away with a meal and a hand-made bowl as a reminder of those who are still hungry, their monetary donation for the bowl is sent to local organizations that distribute food to those in need.

Organizers of Empty Bowls events range from elementary to college level, as well as civic organizations, churches, and individuals. Today, events take place in nearly every state. Additionally, it has reached the global level in the United Kingdom through the Empty Bowls in New Forest and Southbourne Lymington, as well as in Australia through Whitepeacockstudios in Claremont WA. Empty bowls have become so widespread, in fact, that the #emptybowls tag has reached over 29 thousand posts.

If you find yourself wanting to become involved with The St.Kate’s Empty Bowls Project, do not fret, there are many opportunities in 2022. Some of these opportunities include opening making events, hosting group making events, and the ice cream social. More information about the events can be found on our website stkateemptybowls@stkate.edu, or you can email us. The St.Kate’s Empty Bowls Project is always looking for new ideas to engage the community, so don’t be afraid to reach out and get involved.

But what if you are inclined to host your own Empty Bowls project?

Starting your own Empty Bowls Project must begin by finding a local food bank or food shelf that is willing to accept your monetary donations raised through your empty bowls event. This should be a food bank that is excited about the Empty Bowls mission - to remind those of the

persistent hunger that faces many of our community members, while simultaneously raising money to feed those who are in need. Luckily, there are many food banks that are welcome any donations to fight hunger.

Next, It is important to gather your team. Organizing an event is exciting, but also a lot of work! You will most likely want members to join you in the planning, marketing, and making of bowls. These should also be people who care about the mission of Empty Bowls. Don’t forget that you’ll need servers and connections to get soup, ice cream, or whatever food you decide to serve on the day of your event. Choose a food that is not only plausible for serving large groups but one that also has the potential to be donated for your Empty Bowls event. Examples of donors for the food items are local grocery stores or restaurants.

Determine where and when you want to host your Empty Bowls event. Will it be in a local park? A church? On a campus? Consider the ages of the people in your community and choose a date and time where you know people will generally be around to participate. Stay away from standard working hours and Holidays.

Now you will want to find your source of bowls to sell and fill for your event. It is important to note that there are many different approaches to obtaining your Empty Bowls and approaches to raising money at the event. For example, St.Kate’s focuses on its students creatively producing bowls through making events and opportunities in the campus ceramics studio. The bowls are then donated to be sold at the ice cream social Empty Bowls event and the money raised is given to Open Arms of Minnesota. Other Empty Bowls projects apart from St.Kates may not look to include any making events, and only seek to collect donated bowls to sell at their event. Other events have even been held in high-end restaurants with fancy attire, silent auctions, and sold tickets. Choose your unique approach!

It may be helpful to talk to your local pottery friends. You may be surprised how many pottery classes are located around you, and many times schools and colleges have pottery opportunities as well. Local ceramic artists additionally may be willing to help. You can ask for donations of

handmade bowls for your Empty Bowls Event, or bring a group to make these bowls. If you plan for a large turnout, you may want to consider a Making Event, similar to St.Kate’s approach, in which you advertise and plan on one or several occasions to make bowls specifically for your Empty Bowls event. Clay is not always cheap, so if it is not being donated by the school, donor, or pottery organization, remember to include those costs in your Empty Bowls event when attendees purchase the bowls or include these costs in your Making Event. Many times local businesses will be willing to participate in a sponsorship, in which they cover the costs of the poetry.

Advertisement is perhaps the most critical piece of the event. Send out press releases a few times starting a couple of months before the date. You will want to create flyers and hang them around your city - in grocery stores, churches, schools, post offices, etc. Just be sure to receive permission before hanging your flyer in a business. Include the local radio, TV Channels, and newspapers in sharing your Empty Bowls event. In addition to asking your family and friends to share the event, remember to share it on your social media pages and include the #emptybowls tag. If you send your Empty Bowls event information to the Empty Bowls organization, they will also share your event!

On the day of your event, be sure to arrive early to set up the display of bowls, money collection boxes, and the food item that you will be serving. Don’t be shy to ask for help and be infinitely grateful for all the support you receive. Include brochures or informational handouts about Empty Bowls and the local food bank that you are donating to if possible. People want to know where their donations are headed and the change that they are making.

In conclusion, an Empty Bowls Event can be a lot of work to plan, but incredibly rewarding for you and your community. St.Kates not only strives to remind our community of the hunger that many people face today but also to raise money creatively to donate to those in need of a meal.

We look forward to seeing you participate in our Empty Bowls events or possibly supporting you in your own unique Empty Bowls journey.

“You’re Bold, You’re Beautiful, Be Fearless – Build it and they will come.” - Original creators of The Empty Bowls Project

Creating Your Own Empty Bowls Event Checklist

1. Find a local food bank to which your donations will go

2. Assemble your team and assign roles

3. Determine your approach to the event - what food will be served, what will occur at the event, etc.

4. Determine the location and time of the event

5. Find donors to cover the costs of hosting the event, ceramics, food items being served, or any other costs acquired.

6. Collect bowls through donations or determine a way to make them!

7. Advertise your Empty Bowls Event

8. Host your event and make a difference!