6th annual Empty Bowls raises over $10k

The sixth annual Grayson County Alliance Empty Bowls was held Monday and raised more than $10,000 for the local food pantry.

According to Grayson County Alliance (GCA) Executive Director Debbie Childress, this year’s event featured 26 sponsors, 298 total bowls donated (138 of which were new), and 170 bowls of soup served.

Empty Bowls, held at St. Joseph Parish Hall in Leitchfield, is a soup supper where each meal ticket purchased provides the food pantry approximately 100 meals for local families struggling with food insecurity. For a suggested donation of $25, guests have their choice of a keepsake painted or pottery bowl created by amateur and professional artists from the community.

In total, this year’s Empty Bowls raised $10,270 for the local food pantry. Of that, the annual Larry Elmore donated and designed “dragon bowl” was sold for $3,000 this year.

“It’s fantastic,” said Childress of this year’s event. “We’ve got a good response from the community.”

Currently, the GCA serves about 750 Grayson County households per month and continues to see new clients monthly. A new client is one who either has never sought assistance from GCA or has not been served by the GCA in more than a year.

Childress said life can be like a row of dominoes, and sometimes one domino may prevent the row from falling as intended.

The GCA, she said, helps lift the domino of food insecurity.

“We all have some barrier in our life we’re pushing past,” she said. “We offer a hand-up.”

Empty Bowls will return next year on Feb. 19, 2024.

For more information about the GCA, visit gc-alliance.com, call 270-259-4000, or email info@gc-alliance.com.