Oregon Farmers Ending Hunger Host First Empty Bowls Fundraiser

Eat some hot soup and bid on an empty bowl, it will be fulfilling!

The Empty Bowls fundraiser (dinner and auction) on Saturday, Oct. 4 from 6-8 pm.

(SALEM, Ore.) - Farmers Ending Hunger, an Oregon non-profit led by Marion County resident John Burt, partners with area farmers who donate extra crops of fresh ingredients to be processed and transported to the Oregon Food Bank for use in the emergency relief food boxes.

The group is hosting its first Empty Bowls fundraiser (dinner and auction) on Saturday, Oct. 4 from 6-8 pm. The event is $15 and includes a bowl of soup and a slice of bread.

There will be a wood turner on site making bowls on a lathe. People are encouraged to bid on an empty wooden bowl of their own. The empty bowls signify the hunger suffered by so many Oregonians, every day.

In 2004, Farmers Ending Hunger founder Fred Ziari attended a meeting to address the state’s hunger problem. He was surprised to see Oregon listed as the hungriest state in America, with 25% of the population eating less than one meal a day.

After the meeting, Ziari discussed this problem with his colleagues and farmers in eastern Oregon. In the months that followed, he met with numerous farmers in the region–one of the most productive in the nation–to enlist their help in feeding the hungry.

“No one had ever asked them, the farmers, to help solve hunger problems in the state. They said of course they would,” says Ziari.

Participating farmers and ranchers donate a portion of their harvest, often up to two acres of food. Services donated by food processors and cash donations from individuals round out the mission. The additional costs of product sorting, processing, packaging materials, storage and trucking to get that food to the hungry are covered by food processors' donations and cash donations from individuals.

This event is open to anyone that likes to eat, and would like to assist their fellow man in doing the same.

The Empty Bowls fundraising event will be held at 300 Glen Creek Road, Salem, Oregon. For information, call 503-990-8627.

All proceeds will benefit Farmers Ending Hunger.