Fueled by a passion for creativity and a desire to help our neighbors in need, Hopkins Public Schools art teachers and leaders at Hopkins Community Education founded our local Empty Bowls fundraiser. Founded in 1999, art students and community potters have created hundreds of unique soup bowls for this soup meal event that supports the work of ResourceWest and ICA Food Shelf in our community. One of the key figures at the very beginning of this process was Barb Westmoreland, who worked for nearly three decades in the Hopkins School District. We recently caught up with Barb to ask her about how the event came together and her hopes for this year’s event.
Q: What sparked the first-ever Empty Bowls event?
A: The first Empty Bowls was at a Michigan High School about 30 years ago. The art teacher and students created ceramic soup bowls and displayed them in the staff lounge. A local business donated hot soup and the school staff made a donation to the food shelf for their favorite bowl and a serving of soup. From this initial small event, Empty Bowls spread quickly across the world, mostly through artist networks. I learned about Empty Bowls from folks from Duluth when I was at a statewide volunteer coordinator meeting. As the new volunteer coordinator for Hopkins Schools, it seemed a perfect fit for my goal to increase the opportunities for our students and staff to give back to our generous community. I took a field trip with my daughter and her friend to Duluth’s Empty Bowls event to learn more. The next step was to meet with our Hopkins art teachers, thinking I would need to "sweet talk” them, but most were already aware of Empty Bowls and they enthusiastically encouraged me to move forward with plans - and to leave the bowl making to them! Our first Hopkins Empty Bowls was in March 1999 at the newly opened Hopkins Center for the Arts. It was an amazing day with our Hopkins Schools students, staff, families, and community members working together in support of ResourceWest and ICA Food Shelf, ensuring that everyone’s “bowl" is filled.
Q: In your opinion, what has the impact of Event Bowls been in over two decades?
A: Over the past 24 years we’ve learned, together, that we can count on our community's generosity and dedication to sharing their talents, their time, and their resources to ensure that all of our neighbors bowls are filled.
Q: What makes this year’s event especially important?
A: With all the stresses of the pandemic, I hope you’ll join me in making our 24th and final Hopkins Empty Bowls a big success. More than ever before, we need to support the great work of ResourceWest and ICA Food Shelf with our neighbors who are experiencing tough times.
The 2022 Empty Bowls silent auction runs from Tuesday, March 1 through Monday, March 7. More information about the event and how to get involved can be found here.