More than 25 local restaurants served up soups and side dishes in delicious and creative varieties at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s first Empty Bowls fundraiser on Wednesday, Nov. 20 in the Morris University Center Meridian Ballroom.
The SIUE Rotaract Club joined with the Metro East Community Rotary Club to offer The Empty Bowls Project 2019, which is observed worldwide. Tickets were $9 in advance and $10 at the door for unlimited servings. The proceeds will benefit Cougar Cupboard and local hunger programs.
“We’re hoping to raise awareness for hunger in the community, because we realize so many people are affected by it,” said Riley Ladd, president of the SIUE Rotaract Club and a junior 
majoring in computer science. “We will help those people out by donating our proceeds. Our fundraising goal is $5,000.”
“The purpose is not just to fill your empty bowl with soup, but to let people know that many people don’t have any food to fill their bowls because of food insecurity,” Ladd continued. “Andrea Wetzel called me in January about our two clubs collaborating to bring this event to SIUE. They told us what it would entail, and we wanted to customize it to SIUE and bring in favorite restaurants. All of the restaurants are local, except for the Vine out of St. Louis.”
Some of the restaurants included: Big Daddy’s, Catered Affair, Edge Wild, Stagger Inn, Cleveland-Heath, Clean Eatz, Ravanelli’s, Edison’s Entertainment, Sugarfire Smoke House, Wang Gang and Mike Shannon’s.
“This is part of a grassroots movement happening all over the country, and in several other nations to help end hunger,” said Andrea Wetzel, committee chair of the Metro East Community Rotary Club. “Over the last two years, we have raised nearly $4,000 through our Empty Bowls Project to donate to the Glen-Ed Food Pantry and The Main Street Community Center’s Boxes of Hope program.”
“I am glad we could bring the project to SIUE, because it is right in line with the mission of SIUE’s Rotaract Club,” said Robin Brown, counselor in the SIUE Career Development Center and Rotaract sponsor. Brown initiated establishing the club at the University more than seven years ago.
“The Empty Bowl Project has been around for 29 years, and starting it in Edwardsville was extremely important to me,” explained Wetzel. “The original ‘Empty Bowls’ was started by a high school art teacher in Michigan and his students who decided to sell soup in the ceramic bowls they created in art class that year, then donate the proceeds to help feed the hungry! This program has been adopted in many ways, by many organizations.”
Photos:
L-R: Robin Brown, counselor in the SIUE Career Development Center and Rotaract sponsor; Andrea Wetzel, committee chair of the Metro East Community Rotary Club; and said Riley Ladd, president of the SIUE Rotaract Club and a junior majoring in computer science.
Enjoying SIUE’s first Empty Bowls Project is Edward Ackad, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Physics.
Hosting SIUE’s first Empty Bowls Project were members of the SIUE Rotaract Club and the Metro East Community Rotary Club.