For the 21st consecutive year, the Empty Bowls Project is helping to put food on the table for hungry people in Madison County.
The popular community event will be held Friday, April 20, at First Baptist Church, 425 Eastern By-Pass, Richmond. Lunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and dinner from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. With a minimum $12 donation, participants will receive a meal of homemade soup, bread and a drink, and a handmade pottery bowl to keep as a reminder of the empty bowls throughout Madison County.
Both meals will also feature entertainment by local musicians. At lunch, pianist Marvin Kiper will provide the music, and the Madison Dulcimers will perform during the dinner.
All proceeds from the event will help feed local residents through four organizations: Richmond Food Bank at New Liberty Family Shelter, God’s Outreach Community Food Bank, Home Meals Delivery, and the Salvation Army of Madison County.
Local businesses, area churches and schools, and Eastern Kentucky University faculty, staff and students have united to donate their various talents and resources to ensure the event’s success.
In 1997, Richmond became the first city in central Kentucky to organize an “Empty Bowls” project. That is when EKU Art Professor Joe Molinaro, who retired May, learned of similar events elsewhere and began asking local churches for assistance. The request was met with immediate enthusiasm and support, and the multi-denominational event has grown every year since.
David Bogus, assistant professor of art at Eastern, and his ceramics students have continued the tradition by making and donating bowls to this year’s event, as have several local professional potters.
To volunteer at the Madison County Empty Bowls Project, make a donation or request more information, contact Dianna Ackerman, 859-661-5101; Lora Danley, 859-200-9361; or Judy Mitchell, 859-312- 1235.