Empty Bowls project raises funds for CCS, hungry

"There were only a few classes who were making the bowls," said Fasy. "It also helped us get better at the skill of bowl making because we had to make so many."

"I thought it was really cool to be a part of this project," said senior Brayten Nash. "I have been a part of other service projects, but this was my favorite because it was a hands-on project."

"It feels nice to be able to do what you love while helping people at the same time," said senior John Song. "Just the fact that we were helping people was enough to do it regardless of the fact that it required effort and time."

The students had an assembly line to create the bowls. They had people who were kneading and organizing the clay, throwing the clay, trimming the bowls, glazing the bowls, and firing the bowls.

"Overall this was a successful project because the students started thinking about hunger and helping those who are hungry," said Marx.

"The students hearts turned to those who are in need and we are very grateful that Layton High School would take time to think of those who are in need and who are hungry," said Brad Drake, executive director of Catholic Community Services. "Typically a teenager is quite selfish, so I think it is magnificent that they would reach out and do this project. The thing I will remember most about this is that the students not only made the bowls but they also purchased the bowls. I think part of the extent of the whole process is when they eat something from those bowls, they will remember those who go without. This is something these students take for granted every day.

"As far as what it did for Catholic Community Services, we were able to utilize the $5,500 donation they gave us for two of our programs," said Drake. "We were able to support low income families with food boxes at the Joyce Hansen Hall Food Bank in Ogden. We gave the remainder of the donation to the Saint Vincent de Paul Center in Salt Lake City, which is our dining hall that serves homeless people. That helped us provide some necessary food and personal hygiene kits for those people."

Drake said typically Saint Vincent de Paul Center serves between 850 and 900 people. However, on Feb. 5 and Feb. 6, they served 1,160 people each day. With the low economy Utah and the nation are experiencing now, and with more people out of work, the number of people needing a hot meal keeps increasing.

"The number of people coming for food boxes has increased every month," said Downing. "We average about 5,000 individuals and 2,300 food boxes each month, but it is increasing. We are finding people cannot afford to pay their utilities, feed their families, and pay their rent with their pay checks. We have a Safety Net program that allows us to assist with rent and there is a lot of need out there.

"The bowls were beautiful, and the project gave the students an idea of the difficult times people are having," said Downing. "Some of the students had never talked to an individual waiting in line for a food box. They came to the food bank to make a video. I enjoyed working with the students and hope this can be an ongoing project. I think the students learned a lot from it."

"The Empty Bowls project began in 1990. John Hartom had his students at Lahser High School in Bloomfield, Mich., make ceramic bowls as part of a fund raiser to fight hunger," said Marx. "The idea of empty bowls is simple. Participants create ceramic bowls, then serve a simple meal of soup and bread. The students or guests will choose an empty bowl to use that day as a reminder that there are always empty bowls in the world. In exchange for a simple meal and a bowl, the guest gives a minimum donation of $10. All money raised under the name of Empty Bowls must be used for fighting hunger."