The School of Humanities and Social Sciences is happy to announce that the Empty Bowls event was able to raise $2547 for the Gleaner’s BackSacks Program!  This amount will be able to feed approximately 13 children every weekend for an entire school year. Below is Student Coordinator, Whitney Reeves giving the proceeds to Kahty Hahn Keiner, Chief Programs & Agency Relations Officer for Gleaners.

The Empty Bowls event took place from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, October 25, in the Whitewater Hall Lobby. This year, the Empty Bowls luncheon was held in coordination with Indiana University East’s “One Book, Many Voices” project. Guests were invited to select a bowl, made by IU East ceramics students and community potters, and to have it filled with soup and bread.

To prepare for Empty Bowls, IU East students in ceramics courses handcrafted 250 ceramic bowls for participants to choose from and purchase at the event. Area artists also donated bowls.  Students glazed bowls during the March 2016 Glaze-A-Thon held on October 21st, and area restaurants including The Den at IU East, Gulzar’s Indian Cuisine, Hometown Dining Company, and Reid Health’s Cafe at Twelve Hundred contributed soups for the event.

Proceeds went to the Gleaners BackPacks Program. Gleaners’ BackSacks is a Weekend Food for Kids Program that provides backsacks containing food for children in need. Each BackSack includes shelf-stable food that does not need refrigeration, and has enough food for six small meals and a snack. BackSacks meet 51 percent of the recommended daily intake of nutrients for 4-8 year olds.

Carrie Longley, chair of Fine and Performing Arts and assistant professor of Fine Arts, established the program locally in November 2014.

Empty Bowls was sponsored by the IU East School of Humanities and Social Sciences.