SAXTONS RIVER — The pottery wheel has been whirring this fall as the students in Mary Hepburn's pottery class at Vermont Academy turn lumps of clay into bowls they will donate to the Empty Bowl dinner and auction to benefit Our Place Drop-in Center in Bellows Falls.
The event on Sunday, Nov. 6 features bowls made by some of the finest potters in Vermont, plus the work of novices like Hepburn's students.
But all share the same heartfelt desire to help those who are struggling with putting food on the table for themselves and their families.
Hepburn's classes have maintained the tradition of making bowls for the event since the first Empty Bowl 14 years ago.
“It gives the students a deeper purpose to their work rather than just creating something to take home,” said Hepburn. “It also helps them connect with the local community and give back something.”
The Empty Bowl begins at 5 p.m. at Alyson's Orchards in Walpole, N.H., and features a simple supper of soups donated by local restaurants and cooks, followed by silent and live auctions. Each attendee chooses a bowl to take home as a symbolic reminder of those who face truly empty bowls in their daily lives.
Our Place provides a food pantry and a daily breakfast and lunch five days a week. Our Place Director Lisa Pitcher reports that the center is serving an average of 175 households a month, an increase of 45 percent over the same time last year.
Pitcher has noted a 60 percent increase in the number of people coming in for meals.