Empty Bowls, Full House

Source: Odessa American, TexasNov.儲存 16--There was already a line stretching across the Odessa High School cafeteria to the entrance 15 minutes before the Empty Bowls event was actually set to start Friday evening.The event, originally scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m., is centered on using art as a means of fighting the war on hunger. Ten dollars got you through the door, a handmade bowl and a Styrofoam bowl of soup -- there were no limits to the number of bowls you could buy, and there were people walking around the cafeteria with three or four glazed, imperfect, yet attractive, bowls."You can see the different personalities in the bowls of who made them," UTPB Student Senate member Amanda DeFrance said. "It's just one of those events that makes sense -- it just works."Students from Odessa College, Midland College and Odessa High School, as well as some lay residents, bore the bowls from clay, glazed them and fired them in kilns for two months prior to the event so there would be enough to accommodate the people who attended.Executive Director of the West Texas Food Bank Libby Campbell said this is an event she loves to come to every year because it teaches young people about the importance of philanthropy and art."The handmade bowls are very symbolic of what the event really stands for," Campbell said outside of the chaotic cafeteria Friday evening. "It's a very organic event. It's very supported by the community."Campbell said this event will help the West Texas Food Bank serve 75,000 people in 19 counties with a total service area of 34,000 square feet.She said the cost of living in the area has drastmini storagecally affected the population and she feels the need for food will rise through the winter months."Hunger is a secret," Campbell said before describing how people have to make decisions whether to buy food or gas to get to work. "No one wants to admit they can't feed themselves or their kids. It will control every decision you make."Collen Oehlschlager and her friend Daphne Miles both participated in the community event held by OC where members of the community were able to participate in the bowl-making process for a day. Both women were attending Empty Bowls for the first time and said they were happy to be a part of the experience."I'm glad the money goes to the food bank," Oehlschlager said. "Not everyone works in the oil field."Oehlschlager said it had been 35 years since she last tried her hand at bowl making and was not as adept as she would have liked to have been, but said Miles did well in her attempt.Campbell said the reception for the event within the community and has been so good that Midland just held its inaugural Empty Bowls event and hoped to have it become an annual event.Friday night's event had soup provided by Catfish and Co., 2338 E. Eighth St., and a silent auction with works donated by local artists in the area.Campbell said for every dollar raised at the event, the West Texas Food Bank was able to provide four meals.Contact Chris Bartlett at 432-333-7782, email at cbartlett@oaoa.com, or on Twitter at @OAChrisBartlettCopyright: ___ (c)2013 the Odessa American (Odessa, Texas) Visit the Odessa American (Odessa, Texas) at .oaoa.com Distributed by MCT Information Servicesself storage