The Highlands Food Pantry will hold their 12th annual Empty Bowls fundraiser Sunday, Sept. 24. The event will run from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and it will be at First Presbyterian Church of Highlands.
Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online at internationalfriendshipcenter.org in advance or Sunday at FPCH’s doors. Funds raised help benefit the region’s food insecure populations.
The fundraiser is a collaboration between the International Friendship Center, which manages the food pantry, and First Presbyterian Church of Highlands.
Bonnie Dayton, director of the Highlands Food Pantry, said Empty Bowls is the main fundraiser for the food pantry aside from community fundraisers.
“We’re just hoping to raise a good amount of funds so we can continue to operate, purchase food, and be able to continue providing the services we provide,” Dayton said.
Proceeds help the Highlands Food Pantry cover operational costs and food expenses, which are around $5,000 a month.
Every year, the Empty Bowls fundraiser combines soups made by local restaurants and chefs with hand-made stoneware bowls from The Bascom.
“People are able to come and choose a bowl, a beautiful piece of pottery, that they’d like to take home with them. We’ll have six soups from local restaurants that have donated five gallons of soup each for us to serve,” Dayton said.
Along with a new bowl and soup servings, there will be desserts! Chocolate Heaven is donating a variety of sweets.
There are over 400 bowls. Dayton said the food pantry would love to sell them all to support its operations.
The Highlands Food Pantry has seen record numbers of guests using their services this year. From January to July this year, the food pantry served an average of around 426 families, 1,574 individuals, and 33 new families each month.
This has created budget constraints and impacted the ability to serve guests.
“Due to the increase in clients coming in and the decrease in the amount of food I’m able to get and purchase from Manna… we’ve had to limit people to come in twice a month. Before they were able to come in once a week,” Dayton said.
Dayton said clients have been receptive and understanding of the changes in service. Clients are still appreciative of the help they are able to receive.
The food pantry is open Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Dayton said in the event of an emergency, they are able, and happy, to meet clients as needed.
The pantry is strictly a free food distribution center and does not do meals, but Dayton stressed Highlands Food Pantry has a solid choice of food available for clients to choose from.
“We provide fresh milk, eggs, and produce each week. People are able to come in and get a good amount of food here,” Dayton said.
People are able to come in and select food themselves. New clients need to fill out a brief intake form with basic information, including the number of people in the household.
“There’s no income requirement, all people need to do is say they have food insufficiency and they need some assistance,” Dayton said.
The food pantry can always benefit from financial donations to support its operation. Depending on needs, the pantry may also benefit from volunteers and food donations. They can also benefit from home goods and cleaning products as well as personal hygiene items, including toothbrushes and toothpaste, razors, and soap.
For more information on the food pantry or its needs, contact info@internationalfriendshipcenter.org.