Such difficult choices – carrot herb or squash soup? Chili or Portuguese sausage. And then there was the bread. And of course the bowls!

More than 200 people came out to Pine Bush High School on March 19 to support the 12th annual Empty Bowls fundraiser. Sponsored by the Pine Bush High School Art Department, Empty Bowls raises money for the Pine Bush Food Pantry while reminding folks there are always people right here in our own neighborhoods who struggle to feed their families. This year’s event raised more than $2,500, according to Diane Trad, Art Department chairperson and organizer of the event.

Attendees enjoyed a simple meal of delicious homemade soups and breads and got to take home a handcrafted bowl created by Pine Bush High School art students. Student volunteers also served the soups.

Leeann Noonan, Family and Consumer Science Program teacher, and her students provided two of the soups, southwestern bean and Portuguese sausage, and baked all nine varieties of bread. Other soups were donated by local restaurants, staff and students. In all, there were 20 different soups from which to choose.

The event is also an art showcase of the incredible work being done by students, including the wide array of bowls made for the event. Different shapes and sizes, the bowls are each unique, some with encouraging phrases and colorful designs. “You are someone’s reason to smile,” read one bowl. “When it rains, look for rainbows,” read another. The students’ creativity was on display not only in the bowls they created but also in art that hung throughout the cafeteria.

Empty Bowls is now an international project to fight hunger. It was the idea of a Michigan art teacher and her students back in 1990 who were looking for a creative way to raise money for a local food drive.