BRATTLEBORO — A fixture of autumn in southeast Vermont, the Empty Bowls fundraiser for Foodworks, the food shelf at Groundworks Collaborative, will look very different this year.
“It's Empty Bowls in the time of COVID,” Groundworks Board Member Beth Kiendl said in a news release. “We're tweaking just about every aspect of the event this year and hoping the community will continue to support this important work - providing emergency food to all who need it in our community.”
Staff and volunteers at Foodworks have been packing and delivering boxes of food all over Windham County throughout the COVID-19 crisis.
“Foodworks needs this support more than ever,” says Sara Ryan, Co-Chair of the Empty Bowls Steering Committee and a member of the Groundworks Board.
“We are feeding twice as many people as we were this time last year, and the need for emergency food is expected to increase in the coming months,” she said.
As Vermonters continue to be discouraged from gathering in large numbers, organizers have designed a number of alternatives to an in-person event.
The Empty Bowls Dinner typically raises between $25,000 and $30,000 to keep the shelves stocked at Foodworks for families and individuals in need of emergency food. Funds raised from the sale of each $25 ticket to the dinner - or bowl purchased in advance for those who could not attend - could feed a family of five with food for two weeks.
Local potters are handcrafting bowls, now available for purchase online at GroundworksVT.org/events. They can be picked up curbside on the weekend of Oct. 3 and 4:
• Saturday, Oct. 3, 9 a.m. to noon, Living Memorial Park skating rink lot, Brattleboro
• Saturday, Oct. 3, 1 to 4 p.m., River Valley Credit Union, Putney Road, Brattleboro
• Sunday, Oct. 4, 1 to 4 p.m., River Valley Credit Union, Route 5, Putney
Bowls there will be packaged for curbside pick up with receipt and can be purchased with cash or check.
Bowls are now on display and available for purchase in local business storefronts, including the Brattleboro Food Co-Op, Zephyr Designs, Everyone's Books, Vermont Artisan Designs, The Shoe Tree, Putney Food Co-op, and the Putney General Store.
Individual bowls will be sold for $25, and a “party pack” of 12 bowls and soup recipes will be available for $250.
Party packs are designed to allow people to host their own Empty Bowls with a small group of friends and family. Party Packs come with free delivery within a 30-minute drive of Brattleboro.
On Saturday, Oct. 10, at 6 p.m. - when the dinner would have otherwise been served - Groundworks will host a livestream broadcast on YouTube featuring staff, volunteers, and board, as well as music and the latest updates on Foodworks' impact in the community.
More information about the broadcast and bowl sales will be available on both the “Groundworks Collaborative” and “Empty Bowls - Southern Vermont” Facebook pages, as well as at GroundworksVT.org.
Organizers of the event look forward to gathering as usual once the Coronavirus pandemic is over.
“We are grateful for all of the potters, restaurants, businesses, and volunteers that come together each year to make this event possible, and to Landmark College for hosting us year after year,” said Groundworks Executive Director Josh Davis.