Empty Bowls ‘fun-raiser’ focuses on hunger need

Jim Peckham, executive director of Friends In Service Helping, calls the annual Empty Bowls event in the Carson Mall a “fun-raiser.”
“We call it a ‘fun-raiser’ because the goal is not to make hundreds of thousands of dollars. Basically, we want to cover our costs and make some money, but ultimately, we want to give back to the community,” he told the Appeal Friday.
The event, in its ninth year, is a way to say thank you to community members while also keeping the important underlying issue in mind, Peckham said. People pay for dinner and a handcrafted bowl, and the money raised goes to the nonprofit’s food bank and dining hall service.
“Again, it helps reinforce the understanding there are still hungry people in the community,” Peckham said.
Friday, event organizers were busy preparing for an estimated 1,000 attendees. Twenty local restaurants provided food, and more than 1,000 bowls adorned tables, the majority made in adjacent Ogres-Holm Pottery. Families, scout organizations, church groups and many “steadfast” individuals made the bowls from March to October as way to learn the art of pottery — for free — and give back to the community, said Ogres-Holm co-owner Jo Moore.
“That’s what we’re trying to do here,” she said. “We want creation of the bowls and accessibility of meals available to anyone.”
The Empty Bowls national campaign started more than 30 years ago as an art project in a Michigan high school, but Empty Bowls Carson City Committee Spokesperson Liz Jordan said local organizations differ. In Carson, she said, hundreds of people pitch in versus smaller numbers in other communities.
“What we can offer — we have the big studio here — is we create a lot more bowls with a lot more people,” she said.
Peckham said funds raised during the event helps FISH, though need in the community has grown. In the last 12 months, he said, FISH has served nearly 400,000 meals in Carson, Douglas and Lyon counties. That estimate includes dining room meals, turkey baskets and food bank meals.

“Government benefits have gone down,” he said. “Inflation is up… for the costs of goods as well as gas and utilities for people, so our clientele is seeing more of a punch.”Peckham said FISH prefers cash donations, specifically checks, because the organization can procure food cheaper than those who donate food items. Food donations are still welcome, and Peckham pointed out food donations have decreased as need has increased.
“We normally have about four to six weeks’ worth of food on the shelves,” he said.
That amount has dwindled as the organization has tried to keep up with demand, he explained.
“When we’re already way down, it’s scary going into these winter months,” he said.
Peckham emphasized donations can increase during the holidays but thin out in subsequent months.
“It was less of an issue during COVID because there was so much COVID money sloshing around,” he said. “I think we went through a period of time when people were less concerned and less aware of it (hunger). Now that we’re coming back to what the normal is, we need to reenergize and help people. We don’t rely on the government for funding; we rely on the community.
“I tell my staff: we know how we’re doing based on how the community is supporting us.”
To donate to FISH, visit https://www.nvfish.com/donate.
For more information about Empty Bowls, visit https://www.facebook.com/EmptyBowlsCarsonCity/.