Public invited to enjoy soup and bread and go home with a unique piece of locally made pottery.
Ferrum, VA – The Ferrum College campus community and the public are invited to enjoy camaraderie, good food and the opportunity to help feed the hungry with the return of the popular Empty Bowls event on Sun., March 13, 2016, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Blue Ridge Mountain Room in the College’s Franklin Hall. For $15 (or $10 with a valid student ID), attendees enjoy a hot meal of scratch-made soup and bread served in a handcrafted bowl of their choice, and then can take their “empty bowl” home. Proceeds support the Panther Packs program, which provides food for hungry children of Ferrum Elementary School.
Assistant Professor of Art, David Eichelberger, who organizes and facilitates Empty Bowls along with local artist Nell Fredericksen, says that college students, professors, Blue Ridge Potters Guild members, and area volunteers made around 400 unique bowls for this year’s event. In addition, there will also be a silent auction featuring original works of art, including paintings, larger bowls, platters, casseroles, and vases, generously donated by members of Floyd County’s ‘16 Hands’ collective, the Blue Ridge Potters Guild, and other local artists.
Panther Packs is a program at Ferrum Elementary School that sends qualifying children home for the weekend with backpacks stocked with nutritious, non-perishable food. The Empty Bowls project is designed to educate students about how they can make a positive difference in their communities.
“It is a special opportunity, for students, professors, area artists, and many more volunteers to come together to contribute to an event that benefits our immediate community. Our efforts parallel Ferrum College’s motto, ‘Not Self, But Others’, and it feels like the right way to help our young neighbors at Ferrum Elementary,“ said Eichelberger.
