STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK
Fill a bowl of your choice and your tummy with some of the valley’s tastiest soups on Sunday when The Hunger Coalition and Boulder Mountain Clayworks throws their 10th annual Empty Bowls party.
The event will be held from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 19, at the Presbyterian Church of the Big Wood.
Partakers may choose from nearly 400 beautifully hand-crafted, hand-painted ceramic bowls created by adults and children alike for the occasion at Boulder Mountain Clayworks. They then may fill their bowls with soups, chili, bread and salads provided by various restaurants in the valley, finish it off with a cookie or two and take the bowl home to use again or display on the kitchen shelf.
One hundred percent of the proceeds benefit The Hunger Coalition, which saw another record-setting year this past year in the number of people asking for assistance despite bottlenecks in the grocery aisle and lines out the door.
Nearly 800 people accessed services for food in one month last April. So many children participated in Bloom Truck’s free lunches and books that it was renamed the Super Bloom. And more and more people are taking home veggies from Bloom Community Farm’s Volunteer for Veggies program.
“Blaine County has the highest cost of living in Idaho, yet average wages in our community fell below the state’s last year. Combine that with a lack of affordable housing and higher-than-average food costs and it’s no wonder more people are struggling to put dinner on the table. Empty Bowls is a great way to give back to our community over the shared joy of a good meal,” said Jeanne Liston, executive director of The Hunger Coalition.
Caterers and restaurants pitching in include Atkinsons’ Market, Big Belly Deli, Bigwood Bread Bakery and Café, The Chocolate Moose, CK’s Real Food, Cookbook Restaurant, The Covey, 7 Fuego, The Haven, Ketchum Grill, Mahoney’s Bar and Grill, The Mint, Nourish Me Health Food Store and Café, Perry’s Restaurant, Rasberrys Catering & Bistro, Red Star, Sean Templeton and The Boho Lounge, Starbucks, Sun Valley Resort and Warfield Distillery & Brewery.
Admission is $20 for adults and $10 for children 10 and under.
The Church of the Big Wood is at 100 Saddle Road across from the Wood River Community YMCA in Ketchum.