Every day in Arizona 963,130 people wake up not knowing where their next meal will come from. The statistics are even more bleak for children living in rural Arizona. According to Feeding® America’s “Map the Meal Gap” study, Apache County has the highest rate of food insecurity among children 18 years old and younger in the state. Navajo County comes in a close second, with 27.3 percent of the county’s youth population facing hunger.
Once again, Northland Pioneer College will be holding its annual “Empty Bowls” soup luncheon fundraising event to help fight hunger in Northeast Arizona. For the second year in a row, NPC has partnered with the RE:center, a local non-profit organization that provides vital services to increase health, safety, and self-sufficiency in our communities. In addition to providing food boxes, the RE:center runs a soup kitchen out of its Pinetop location and serves free hot meals to those in need four days a week. Last year, NPC’s Empty Bowls event raised $2,266 in donations to the RE:center.
To prepare, NPC invites the public to participate in an Empty Bowl “Make-a-Thon” on Friday, September 13, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Fine Arts Department ceramic studio located in Room 104 of the Aspen Center at the Show Low campus.
Empty Bowls is an international nonprofit grassroots effort by ceramicists and educators to raise awareness of food insecurity in our communities. “This is a fun way to give back by being creative and getting your hands a little muddy,” said NPC Art Faculty Magda Gluszek, who oversees the college’s Empty Bowls project and is a well-known ceramist. The bowls created during the ‘Make-a-Thon’ will be used to serve a simple meal of soup and bread during NPC’s Empty Bowls event, which will be held at the Show Low campus on Friday, Nov. 1, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., or until the soup and bread run out.
For a donation of $10, you’ll receive one of the uniquely handcrafted bowls made during the public Make-a-Thon, generously filled with soup donated by Persnikkity’s in Show Low and a portion of bread. All proceeds from the Empty Bowls event will go directly to the RE:center.
Direct questions to Magda Gluszek at (928) 532-6176 or email magda.gluszek@npc.edu. If you plan to participate in the Empty Bowl Make-a-Thon with a group of four or more, please contact Gluszek at least 24 hours in advance to schedule a bowl-making time.
The RE:center, founded by theCHURCH, works to connect families to services by offering programs and working with community partners to support their Survive-to-Thrive initiative. The organization does not discriminate their services based on religious beliefs, and in addition to a food pantry, helps individuals and families find assistance with medical and dental care, behavioral health, re-entry, housing, transportation, parental support, early childhood learning, mentorship, job training, and if requested, spiritual guidance. For more information visit the organization’s website, www.rcaz.us.
Northland Pioneer College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, veteran status, religion, marital status, gender, age, or disability in admission or access to, or treatment or employment in its educational programs or activities. For more information visit www.npc.edu/public-notices/legal-notices.
