Local dinner addresses poverty

Families and friends from the town of Middlebury and its surrounding area gathered at the Middlebury Methodist Church on Nov. 6 for the 19th annual Empty Bowl Dinner. All proceeds from the $25 tickets are split evenly and go directly to two local food shelves: HOPE and the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO). All were also welcome to donate additional money when buying the ticket or at the dinner itself. The Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op hosted the event, and this is one of many Empty Bowl Dinners held throughout the country in an effort to end hunger nationwide.
“We [the Co-op] have several end statements and one is to provide healthy food for the whole community,” said Karin Mott, the Marketing Manager at the Co-op, who also organized the event. “This is one way we can fulfill that.”
The dinner’s set-up is simple: each attendee enjoys soup in a handcrafted bowl of their choice that local potters have donated. They are also served salad, rolls, desserts and beverages. As the soups are the main feature of the meal, however, there can be mild competition for who gets to make them, said Mott. This year’s options were vegetable soup with chicken and sweet sausage, squash and sun-dried tomato soup and black bean, aptly named “November Black Bean and Friends” by the Co-op employee who made it. At the end of the evening, volunteers wash all the bowls, and each person gets to take home their own bowl.
According to an article about the event in the Co-op’s November newsletter, “the bowl serves as a memento of the evening, reminding all in attendance that while our bowls are full, there are others in our communities in need of a nourishing meal.”
This year, approximately 72 people attended the event and about $2,000 was raised. While the Co-op works with food shelves and other nonprofits throughout the year by donating extra bread, dairy, meat and produce or by offering $25 gift certificates to the groups, this is by far the largest cash contribution, said Mott.
Some, like Lester, Vt. resident Jennifer Munger, have gone to the dinner for many years and she now boasts a large collection of ceramic bowls. Munger estimates she has six bowls at home.
Though the Co-op hosts the dinner, over a dozen other local businesses, nonprofits and individuals contribute resources to make the event possible. This year, for example, Champlain Valley Orchards and Happy Valley Orchards donated apple cider, and Middlebury Bagel and Deli donated rolls. Students at the North Branch School made tile centerpieces for the three long tables where the attendees sat. The Little Pressroom, a printing company in Middlebury, provided the tickets free of charge.
Asking groups for donations is the first thing Mott does when organizing the dinner, as all aspects of the event are donated in some way. Even the live music is free. Members of “Her Majesty’s Streakólean,” a local folk music band, spared their time and talent, and played throughout the dinner.
“[Donating my time] is part of being a community,” said Julia Wayne, who plays the banjo-uke in the band.
According to Mott, all of this year’s sponsors already had pre-existing relationships with the Co-op. The second step in organizing the event is to find volunteers, most of whom are employees, board members or shoppers at the Co-op, though the positions are open to anyone who is interested. Mott also works to advertise the dinner. There were ads on the radio and in several newspapers, including Seven Days and The Addison County Independent. Because the event is nonprofit, the Co-op does not pay to run the ads.
Though attendees differed in age (there were many elders, as well as families with young children), all who came to the dinner had the same goal in mind: support local initiatives to fight hunger.
“I see poverty as significant,” said one of the attendees, Elizabeth Stabler. “This can help some people.”
Pittsford, Vt. resident Amanda Beitzel agrees, noting that she sees evidence of poverty, especially at her office in Rutland, Vt. Like many, Beitzel found out about the event from family members. This was her second year at the dinner.
“It’s a pretty amazing way to give back to the community,” said Jeremy Ward, associate professor of biology, who attended the dinner with his wife and two daughters.
As attendees came in, they perused over the vast selection of handcrafted bowls. Glen Lower, general manager of the Co-op, welcomed everyone and explained the four goals of the event: raising money for two local food shelves, increasing awareness about hunger relief in Addison County, supporting local potters and bringing together members of the community.
Donna Rose, food shelf coordinator at the CVOEO, then spoke. After thanking those who were there, Rose made a brief yet powerful presentation that demonstrated the extent and proliferation of hunger in Addison County, particularly during the economic recession. Rose held up a large poster filled with cutouts of people’s heads, each of which represented the 305 individuals served each month at the CVOEO’s food shelves.
Rose’s presentation reinforced the need for aid, but did not dampen the joyful atmosphere of the dinner, as all seemed to enjoy a delicious meal for a worthy cause.