The basic premise of Empty Bowls is simple: guests are served soup in a handmade ceramic bowl in exchange for a cash donation to a local organization that addresses food insecurity. Patrons keep the bowl as a reminder of the meal’s purpose and that someone’s bowl is always empty.

Empty Bowls was started by John Hartom, a high school art teach in Michigan, who helped his students find a way to raise funds to support a local food drive. What evolved was a class project to make ceramic bowls for a fund-raising meal. Since then, Empty Bowls events have been held throughout the world and millions of dollars have been raised for food banks, soup kitchens, and other organizations that fight hunger.

Wittenberg University’s Art Department hosted its first Empty Bowls event in 1994 when Kate (Duman) Runyon, a ceramics major from Michigan, took the initiative to start the project. The Second Harvest Food Bank in Springfield has been the recipient of the funds raised by the event. It was one of the first university sponsored Empty Bowls and has grown over 30 years from approximately 100 to over 1,000 bowls annually, all made by Wittenberg University students, staff, faculty and area potters.

To date, Wittenberg Unversity’s event has raised over $666,450 equating to 3.8 million meals for those in need.