Food Pantry Sees Spike in Need
Someone, somewhere, has an empty bowl.
This is the idea behind Empty Bowls, an event being held for the seventh annual year in Marshfield to bring awareness about hunger issues and raise funds for local food pantry Soup or Socks. Started by an art teacher in Michigan, the event has since spread to to other communities like Marshfield.
Soup or Socks director Cheryl Lewis Hartl said the pantry has seen an increased need for its services, serving double the amount of people in December as the year before. Overall, 1,600 people were served in 2017.
“The cost to feed a family of four is estimated to be $150 for the five days worth of food that we give to each household,” she said. Seventy households were served in January.
The Empty Bowls fundraiser is a chance to help the pantry meet the growing need, purchase perishables, and create awareness. A $10 ticket gives each person a bowl of soup donated from a variety of restaurants and a keepsake ceramic bowl created by local artists. The $15 option allows for a bowl of soups, a keepsake ceramic bowl, and then three smaller bowls of soup (a “flight”). This option is ideal for those wanting to taste test a variety, or for families with children who have smaller appetites.
Empty Bowls will be held March 10 from 11-2 at Hotel Marshfield. Tickets can be purchased at the door or ahead of time to avoid the admission line by calling Soup or Socks.
