17TH ANNUAL EMPTY BOWLS FUNDRAISER FOR TABLE OF GRACE FOOD PANTRY

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 Eat the soup. Keep the bowl! The 17th annual Empty Bowls, an event that raises hunger awareness in our community and funds for the Table of Grace food pantry, will be held in the Grace Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall, 113 Hargrove Road, on Wednesday, March 26 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Proceeds from the event benefit Table of Grace, a market-style food pantry that serves nearly 2,500 community residents a month.

For a suggested donation of $25, attendees will enjoy live entertainment, get to pick out a hand-crafted bowl created by local artisans and UA ceramics students, and receive a meal of soup, bread, and water.  For an additional $5, attendees may take one bowl of soup “to go.”

This “meager meal” is a reminder of the food insecurity and injustice that affects many of our West Alabama neighbors. The empty bowl represents how many go to bed hungry in our community each night. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the event support the Table of Grace food pantry. Table of Grace is a market-style food pantry where neighbors can select the food they would like from the available inventory. By giving neighbors greater choice in their food the pantry hopes to also give them more dignity in the process.

“Since we opened the new market-style pantry in 2023, we have been so grateful for all of the support we’ve gotten from the Tuscaloosa community,” said Emily Altman, the executive director of Table of Grace. “This is our biggest fundraiser of the year and we are excited for the ways the support we raise through Empty Bowls will allow Table of Grace to continue in the fight against food insecurity in Tuscaloosa,” she added.

The idea of “empty bowls” has its own unique history. In 1990, a high school art teacher in Michigan helped his students solve a problem. They were searching for a way to raise funds to support a food drive. What evolved was a class project to make ceramic bowls for a fundraising meal.

Guests were served a simple meal of soup and bread and were invited to keep the bowl as a reminder of hunger in the world. Today, Empty Bowls events are held all over the United States.

Table of Grace is thankful for the generous donation of more than 200 hand-crafted bowls from The University of Alabama’s Art & Art History Department and Red Dog Potters and food donations from local restaurants and businesses. Thanks to these community partners, the 2025 Empty Bowls will continue the tradition of raising money to fight food injustice in West Alabama.

Tickets will be available at the door for a recommended $25 donation and can be paid by cash, check, credit card, or mobile payment. For those who can’t come to the event, donations can also be made at gracetuscaloosa.org/tog.

For more information about Empty Bowls, call (205) 758-1193 or visit www.gracetuscaloosa.org. For more on Table of Grace, see our website: http://gracetuscaloosa.org/tog

“I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.” (Matthew 25: 35 CEB)

Facts about Table of Grace

• Table of Grace is the first and only client-choice market style food pantry in West Alabama.

• The client-choice model gives our neighbors more dignity and freedom as they select the best food for their family

• The Table of Grace client-choice market is open Tuesday 12pm-6pm, Thursday 12pm-2pm, and Friday 12pm-2pm.

• Anyone who qualifies for SNAP, TANF, SSI automatically qualifies to receive food from the pantry for free and others may qualify if they meet certain income eligibility requirements.

• Table of Grace relies on volunteers to do its work in the community. To volunteer, visit http://gracetuscaloosa.org/tog and click on the “Volunteer with Us!” button.