(Posted March 29, 2016)

Empty Bowls is at 5 p.m. Saturday, April 2 in the Baker Refectory in Ellis Hall on the Juniata campus.
Empty Bowls is at 5 p.m. Saturday, April 2 in the Baker Refectory in Ellis Hall on the Juniata campus.

HUNTINGDON, PA. -- The 10th anniversary of Juniata College's involvement with the Empty Bowls event has inspired the college's art department to add a few new attractions to the dinner at 5 p.m. Saturday, April 2 in the Baker Refectory in Ellis Hall on the Juniata campus.


"The location change to Baker Refectory, which is the colleges dining facility, will help immensely with the longer lines we've been experiencing each year with this increasingly popular event," says Bethany Benson, associate professor of art and event coordinator.

The Empty Bowls dinner, , which raises money to benefit various Huntingdon County food banks, is a grassroots fund-raising idea that has spread to colleges, cities, and towns nationwide.

Ticket prices are $12 for adults and $7 for children from ages 6 to 10. Children age 5 and under are admitted free. Patrons of the event who have paid the adult price will get not only soup and bread, but also a hand-made ceramic soup bowl from the college's renowned pottery program.

This year, commemorative T-shirts will sport a new design selected by a campuswide contest and judged by a local celebrity. In addition, patrons can also purchase aprons printed with the winning design. T-shirts are $10, and aprons also will be on sale as part of the fundraising effort.

The event also will feature gift-basket raffles and offer videos that show how to make a bowl from start to finish. Empty Bowls, is a nationwide event designed to focus attention on world hunger.

Tickets are available at the information desk at Juniata's Ellis Hall Information Desk and the Unity House on Moore Street.â?¨The dinner will donate 100 percent of the proceeds from the dinner for many different local food banks.

Juniata students and about a dozen community members also made the more than 400 bowls needed for the event.

A variety of soups and breads will be available for the event, provided by a wide variety of local restaurants. In the past, some of the restaurants donating the soups included: Hoss's, Memories, Standing Stone Coffee Company, Boxers, Diner 22, and Sodexo Campus Services Division, the food service provider for Juniata College. Other businesses have donated services or supplies.

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.