Homer’s eighth annual Empty Bowl fundraiser for the Homer Community Food Pantry will take place on Nov. 8 from 11 a.m-2 p.m in the basement of the Homer Methodist Church located at 770 East End Road.
Coordinated by Deb Schmidt, vice president of the food pantry, the event provides a community soup lunch and the funds raised will benefit the food pantry.
For the second year, the pantry has coordinated with Homer Council on the Arts and potters David Kaufmann and Paul Dungan to create a “pottery throw down,” during which local potters created soup bowls for the event.
The bowls were created in the Homer Council on the Arts studio on Oct. 21 with a follow-up trim and decorating session on Oct. 25. A glaze party, the final gathering of the potters to add color to the bowls, will take place on Nov. 3. The Homer Rotary Club donated $300 to help with purchase of clay.
Sherry Stead with Grace Ridge Brewery, former board member for the Homer Food Pantry, helped with planning efforts for the bowl creation event and coordinating the soup donations. Soup will be donated by local restaurants and chefs and desserts will be provided by a variety of contributors, Schmidt said.
Volunteers will run the kitchen and serving at the time of the event.
More than 75 people attended the event last year, Schmidt said. “It’s the biggest fundraiser of the year for the food pantry.”
People can come enjoy a bowl of soup for $10 or purchase a bowl with soup included for $40.
The Homer food pantry serves as many as 170 families each week, according to information provided by Schmidt. Over the last three months, the free fridge, located outside the pantry and available seven days a week, has furnished “over 950 dinners, 2,300 sandwiches, 300 soups, 300 salads and 700 deserts,” according to the pantry’s October newsletter. The fridge also contains fruit, yogurt, pizza and other food items. The refrigerator is stocked and empties daily.
Contributions to the pantry also come from Safeway, the Kenai Peninsula College high tunnel, local farmers during the summer and local restaurants. “Two Sisters has been donating about 75 loaves of bread to the pantry since before the pandemic,” Schmidt said. Private donors provide 30 gallons of whole milk for families each week, Schmidt said.
The pantry is open every Monday from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. In the mornings, volunteers prep the food and set things up. Clients show up from 12-3 p.m. to choose their food items, Schmidt said.
“We also have an in-kind service where people can request up to $200 to assist with other household needs such as heating, electricity, fire wood or shower vouchers.”
Contributions are also provided to Homer High School to help students with meal needs.
The food pantry spends $15,000 per month or about $180,000 annually. The money comes in the form of grants and donations from private donors, local churches and clubs, as well as from the fundraiser.
