Empty Bowls for the 20th Year

The Empty Bowls event, a charity event created for the Hunger and Health Coalition, took place on March 19th for the 20th annual year. Excitement for Empty Bowls has been building within the Watauga community since last year when COVID-19 impacted the event. Traditional aspects of the event will be making a return this year and assisting in the restoration of normalcy in the community.

Members of The National Art Honors Society at Watauga help to make Empty Bowls possible.

“We had club members volunteer for roles during the event,” said junior and NAHS officer Sophia Batemen.

Preparation for Empty Bowls began months prior when NAHS students created the ceramic bowls and started planning for the setup of the event.

“The day before the event, NAHS members had tables, student artwork, and pottery ready for the day,” said Bateman.

With some COVID-19 regulations lifted, Empty Bowls began to progress further toward its traditional organizational structure.

“It was incredible to see the student body and the community working together to raise money and help our community members in need,” said junior and NAHS club member Cooper Brown.

Many students and participants of the events felt similar to this.

“Empty Bowls is incredibly important to many people in Boone,” said senior and NAHS club member Abbi Leon. “Not only does it bring us together as a community like a family meal, but we are also able to support local artists and the Hunger and Health coalition,”

While many traditional factors of Empty Bowls returned, such as location and the ability to gather, there were still adjustments to the event.

“Technically it wasn’t completely traditional considering we served cold soup,” Leon said.

Table spacing was taken into consideration during setup, along with the food served. While participants were able to gather together, the food served was created to be taken home if participants preferred to do that.

“We were very excited to have it back at Watauga and we had such a great turnout,” said art teacher, Ms. Trethewey. “We appreciate everyone who supported by coming out to the event by donating bowls food time and resources,”

The Empty Bowls event will continue to thrive for many years to come. Gradual advancements towards normalcy are constantly being made among the Watauga County community.

“I could tell how much it meant to the teachers and to previous volunteers that have helped with the event in the past,” said Bateman. “Just seeing how everyone interacted in the space, the energy was amazing. After two years it finally seemed like our community was healing,”