EMPTY BOWLS 2020… 

Different than before, but still a success.

As many of you know, the COVID-19 pandemic is causing a hunger crisis of historic proportions across the country and in our community. Shockingly, many of those now seeking assistance are doing so for the first time in their lives due to job furloughs and difficulties in collecting unemployment.

To help our neighbors in need, VisArts once again hosted Empty Bowls, an international grassroots effort to fight hunger. This year, VisArts was pleased to partner with the Bullis School’s ceramics instructor, Alice Shih-Kahn and her students who created beautiful hand-built ceramic bowls for the event. Their participation in this community effort helped us raise funds for two local organizations providing members of the community with access to sufficient and nutritious food in a dignified and respectful manner.

While we were unable to host guests in person and serve food at this year’s event year, the spirit of the program and its mission continued. A total of nearly $3,000 in proceeds were raised for Manna Food Center, a local food bank, and KIND (Kids in Need Distributors), a local organization working with 26 Montgomery County schools to feed nearly 2,200 children.