LOCAL

Full house for Empty Bowls event Tuesday

Staff reports

In true Texomans helping Texomans style, dozens of people turned out for the Empty Bowls event at the Wichita Falls Museum of Art benefiting the Wichita Falls Area Food Bank.

Desserts were laid out for eating during the 2022 Empty Bowls at the Wichita Falls Museum of Art at MSU Texas on Tuesday, October 4, 2022.

For 40 years, the food bank has been sharing this unique fundraiser which offers guest a chance to pick out a ceramic bowl made by local artists and fill it with a soup made by area restaurants.

Bowls were displayed outside during the 2022 Empty Bowls at the Wichita Falls Museum of Art at MSU Texas on Tuesday, October 4, 2022.

Funds from tickets and auction proceeds for more elaborate bowls are all used by the food bank to help stem food insecurity in the North Texas area.

Handmade bowls were auctioned off in a silent auction during the 2022 Empty Bowls at the Wichita Falls Museum of Art at MSU Texas on Tuesday, October 4, 2022.

Local artists work for months ahead of time creating the countless bowls that are needed for the event. Each guest is given the empty bowl as a reminder of the many people that go to bed hungry each day right here in our local area.

A sign briefly explaining Empty Bowls was displayed in the entrance during the 2022 Empty Bowls at the Wichita Falls Museum of Art at MSU Texas on Tuesday, October 4, 2022.

Executive Director Kara Nickens said before COVID, there was about one in six adults locally that went hungry each day and about one in four children. She said those figures are probably even higher now.

In this file photo, hundreds of handmade bowls were set out for sale during the 2022 Empty Bowls at the Wichita Falls Museum of Art at MSU Texas. The 2023 event will be Oct. 11.

Nickens said the food bank is always grateful for donations of food or monetary donations and they need volunteers.

For more information about the Wichita Falls Area Food Bank and how you can help visit https://www.wfafb.org/.