Food for thought: Empty Bowls fundraiser helps fight hunger in West Alabama

Organizers of Grace Presbyterian Church's Empty Bowls fundraiser say the event helps feed a growing need.

Since opening Table of Grace, market-style food pantry, in October 2023, the church has doubled the number of people it feeds. The 16th annual Empty Bowls fundraiser, which was held Wednesday in the Grace Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall, plays a key role in helping Table of Grace serve nearly 2,000 people every month.

More: Grace Presbyterian opens Table of Grace food pantry

"The financial support the community provides through Empty Bowls will help us continue to grow and meet the growing food insecurity of our community in West Alabama,” Ann Weeden, chair of Grace Presbyterian’s Table of Grace committee, said in a news release.

Table of Grace, which is an expansion of the church's former Loaves and Fishes food pantry, has distributed over 66,000 pounds of food to families since opening last year.

For $15, attendees at Empty Bowls enjoyed live entertainment, a simple meal and the opportunity to pick out a hand-crafted bowl, which they could take home. The University of Alabama’s Art and Art History Department donated more than 200 hand-crafted bowls for the event.

Attendees received a meal consisting of soup, bread and water. For an additional fee, attendees were allowed to take one bowl of soup “to go.”

Organizers said the “meager meal” is intended to remind participants that many people in West Alabama lack access to sufficient food or food of an adequate quality, while the empty bowl symbolizes that many people go to bed hungry.

"This has always been our biggest fundraiser of the year," said Emily Altman, mission, peace and justice chair/volunteer coordinator of Grace Presbyterian’s Table of Grace committee.

She said the Empty Bowls event not only provides lunch for the community but it is also serves as an opportunity to provide resources to those in need while raising awareness about food insecurity in the community.

"It also reminds (people) that a simple meal of soup and bread is a lot of the time more than a lot of people can afford to have," Altman said.

The Empty Bowls concept originated in 1990 in Michigan, when a high school art teacher asked students for an idea to raise money to support a food drive. Today, Empty Bowls fundraisers are held all over the United States.

The Table of Grace food pantry is open from noon until 6 p.m. Tuesdays and noon until 2 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays at the church, at 113 Hargrove Road.

According to a news release from the church, anyone who qualifies for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or Supplemental Security Income automatically qualifies to receive food from the pantry for free. Others may qualify if they meet certain income eligibility requirements.

Volunteers are also need to staff the pantry. More information is available at www.gracetuscaloosa.org/tog.

Reach Jasmine Hollie at JHollie@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Food for thought: Fundraiser boosts Table of Grace food pantry