May 3, 2007 issue
Sixth Annual Empty Bowls Event Raises $6,400
Story by Celeste von Mangan
The bowls may be empty, but the Hunger and Health Coalition’s (HHC) cupboards will soon be full—with 30,000 pounds of food purchased with the $6,400 raised by the sixth annual Empty Bowls event.
Watauga High School art students and local artisans created ceramic bowls that were filled with soup and served with bread and dessert for $15. WHS art instructors Susan Dunn, Lori Hill, Shelton Wilder and Whit Whitaker led the project, and Pat Morrison, art instructor at Ashe County High School, and Watauga County Schools art instructors Dacia Trethewey and Jill Huffman organized their students this year to contribute to the project as well.
“It just gets better every year,” said Compton Fortuna, executive director of HHC. “They do a wonderful job. The $6,400 is $300 more than last year and there was better participation from local artisans and the community. The money will go towards the food assistance programs and it will count towards the Feinstein Challenge; this is a great boost.”
The Feinstein Challenge is the brainchild of Alan Feinstein of the Feinstein Foundation in Rhode Island. Feinstein will divide $1 million among food assistance organizations across the country. While not a matching grant, the foundation has a formula for distributing the money that is based on the amount raised locally between March 1 and April 30. “The more you raise, the more you can receive,” said Fortuna.
The Hunger and Health Coalition supplies people in need with groceries and meals, prescription medication and healthcare services. The HHC serves families and individuals in Watauga, Ashe and Avery counties.
For more information about HHC programs, call 828-262-1628.
Letter Carriers Food Drive May 12
Mark your calendars, write yourself a note or tie a string around your finger to remember that Saturday, May 12, is the 15th annual Letter Carriers Food Drive. The nation’s largest food drive—the Stamp Out Hunger campaign—will benefit the Hunger and Health Coalition.
“This is a big event we have coming up,” said Hunger and Health Coalition Executive Director Compton Fortuna. “People simply place their donation of nonperishable food in a bag and hang it on their mailbox or take it to the post office. Last year, we collected 13,000 pounds of food. However, if everyone in Watauga County gave two cans, we estimated we would collect close to 80,000 pounds of food.”
While 80,000 pounds of food or even 13,000 pounds of food sounds like a lot, Fortuna pointed out that the HHC distributes 10,000 pounds of nonperishable food items every month. The HHC has participated in the Letter Carriers Food Drive since 1998, and participation has grown considerably since the first year when abut 3,000 pounds of food was collected.
“The key is getting the word out,” said Fortuna.
Generosity in the High Country
The Hunger and Health Coalition isn’t the only recipient of High Country generosity through the better-than-ever participation in the Empty Bowls project. Two other organizations that recently held fundraising events are delighted with the results.
OASIS Executive Director Jennifer Herman reports that Midnight at the OASIS last Saturday night raised $12,500.
Lori Nicklin, organizer of the Friends of the Library annual book sale, reports that the sale gross of $10,700 is an all-time high.
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