Ferrum, VA, March 9, 2024 — The community is invited to the Ferrum College campus on Sunday, March 24, for Empty Bowls, which will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Blue Ridge Mountain Room in Franklin Hall. For $15 ($10 with student ID), attendees can select a handmade pottery bowl, enjoy a meal of homemade soup and bread, and then take their empty bowls home. Proceeds from the event support the Panther Packs program at Ferrum Elementary School, which sends children experiencing food insecurity home for the weekend with backpacks stocked with nutritious, nonperishable food.
This year marks the fourteenth Empty Bowls event at Ferrum College, said event organizer Nell Fredericksen, adjunct professor of art. “Volunteers join together to achieve the goal of making between 400 and 500 unique bowls, provide exceptional auction items, create our advertising and promotions, and work in many ways to ensure the success of the event,” Fredericksen explained.
Fredericksen expressed gratitude to those who contributed to this year’s Empty Bowls, including Ferrum College, the Ferrum College ceramics classes, the Ferrum College Art Department, the Blue Ridge Potters Guild, 16 Hands Floyd, Ferrum Forward, Henry Baptist Youth Group, Franklin County Elementary School Principals, Ferrum Elementary School faculty, Burnt Chimney Elementary faculty, the Hudson Clan, Ferrum College staff and alumni, Aladdin food service, and numerous talented local artisans who donate works for the silent auction.
According to Fredericksen, the goal of the event is to raise a minimum of $8,000 for the Panther Packs program, which provides six meals plus snacks each weekend—more than 13,000 meals during the school year—for Ferrum Elementary School students who come from food-insecure homes.
Empty Bowls is an international project focused on the concept of handmade art and artists working to fight hunger in their own communities. The promotion and growth of the global project are managed by The Imagine/RENDER Group. Each event is independently organized and supports the fight against hunger within the community that hosts it.
