Marketing and Communications

Buy an Empty Bowl, Fight Hunger at SOU’s Thorndike Gallery (3/10/09)

The tenth annual Empty Bowls event, a pottery fundraiser to alleviate hunger in our community, will take place Friday, April 3, 2009, from 5 to 7 pm in the Southern Oregon University Art Building, Thorndike Gallery. With increased demand at local food banks, organizers hope to raise $5,000, matching last year’s amount.

More than 10,000 children and seniors do not have enough to eat in Jackson County, where the poverty rate is 14%, and 47% of families who receive emergency food have someone in the home who works. The Empty Bowls event has generated more than $28,000 in the fight against hunger over the past nine years.

Soroptimist International of Ashland (whose mission is to serve women and girls locally and globally), the Schneider Museum of Art, the SOU Art Department and Clayfolk have joined to raise awareness about the local hunger problem and do something about it.

Clayfolk potters, SOU students and local school groups have donated more than 300 handmade ceramic bowls and other art items, which will be on display at the Thorndike Gallery from March 30 through the sale on April 3.

Bowls and other art items average $10. Proceeds will benefit the following local food agencies: ACCESS Food Share, Ashland Emergency Food Bank, Uncle Food’s Diner and Food for People.

The public is invited to enjoy the music and food, purchase a beautiful bowl and make a difference in the fight against hunger. The Thorndike Gallery is located in the SOU Art Building on the corner of Siskiyou Boulevard and Indiana Street in Ashland. For more information about this event, please contact Sally Jones at 541-482-9677 or Amanda Pyle at 541-535-2449.