By Sandi Latimer
Staff Writer
Twenty years ago, the Columbus Department of Recreation and Parks introduced Empty Bowls. To date, the soup smorgasbord has donated some $236,000 to the Mid-Ohio Foodbank to help fight hunger.
This fall, the aroma of soups will be wafting from roasters and crockpots at several locations throughout Franklin County where residents enjoy a bowl of soup or two and then choose a hand-crafted bowl made by those who participate in ceramics at a recreation and parks center. The cost of the soup and the bowl is $10, which goes to the Mid-Ohio Foodbank.
“For every dollar we send to Mid-Ohio Foodbank, they can purchase $10 in food,” said Wendy Frantz a spokeswoman for the program.
It has become a popular program, she said.
“People come year after year,” she said. “People have their favorite places.”
This year’s events include:
- Nov 1 – AlterCare of Canal Winchester, 6725 Thrush Drive from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Martin Janis Senior Community Center, 600 E. 11th Ave., from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
- Nov. 4 – Hillcrest Baptist Church, 2400 W. Broad St., from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Parkview United Methodist Church, 344 S. Algonquin, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
St. Luke Lutheran Church, 4456 Morse Road, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Tuttle Park Community Center, 240 W. Oakland Ave., from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Woodward Park Community Center, 5147 Karl Road, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Nov. 5 – Eastminster Presbyterian Church, 3100 E. Broad St., from noon to 2 p.m.
North Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 1534 Franklin St., Lewis Center, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
- Nov. 9 – Cultural Arts Center, 139 W. Main St., from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Gillie Senior Community Center, 2100 Morse Road, from 11:30 to 1 p.m.
Schiller Community Center, 1000 Jaegar St., from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
- Nov. 10 – Gillie Senior Community Center, 2100 Morse Road, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Whetstone Community Center, 3923 N. High St., from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Nov. 11 – Gillie Senior Community Center, 2100 Morse Road, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
For additional information, visit www.columbus.gov/emptybowls.
