Empty Bowls project warms bellies, raises money for hungry

For many, there’s nothing quite like a hot bowl of chili or soup to warm you up when the weather outside turns cold and nasty.

That was the reason why The Providence School moved its annual Empty Bowl project from May to December, art teacher Liz Spurlock said.

While the move caused fewer bowls to be produced by the art students than normal this year, Spurlock said in the long run, the move will be beneficial.

“We’re going to run the project for two semesters and have more bowls, and do the sale in December, which makes more sense, rather than in May when it’s hot (weather),” Spurlock said.

TPS art students Aby Draime and Torin Bailey said bowl production this semester was tough, but in theend, the class made 200 bowls.

“We sell each bowl for $10, and the money goes to the hungry and needy,” Bailey said.

Draime added that bowl production was somewhat stressful.

“It was difficult because usually we have two semesters to do the bowls, but this year, we only had one semester,” Draime said. “We had about 100 bowls finished last week, and we had another 100 finished this week.”

The goal of the project is to raise $2,000 for the cause, Spurlock said.

“Our goal now is to have 400 bowls for next year,” she said.

TPS staff and students made the different foods, including a variety of desserts, chili, potato soup, a spicy chicken soup and tortilla soup.

“All the soups are homemade by the staff,” Spurlock said. “The students made the potato soup and the chili in the kitchen here, and they made some of the desserts.”

Spurlock also said the project is a way for TPS to give back to the community.

“This is the first time for me,” Brookside Baptist Church pastor Dewayne Brewer said. “I learned about it through Iron Man (ministry) that they were having it today. I knew about it before, but this is the first chance that I’ve had to come. The kids are beautiful, and the bowls are very nice, and the soups are delicious.”