The Empty Soup Bowl Dinner

by Marjorie Meyer

FOCUS is the grateful recipient of the funds from the proceeds of our annual Empty Soup Bowl Dinner hosted by the high school.  Each year, the high school art department presents FOCUS with a substantial check from the proceeds of this much-anticipated “extravaganza”.  Tickets sell for $5.00 each.  After everyone has eaten, extra bowls are raffled off to raise even more funds for the cause.

The all-you-can-eat event is held in the high school cafeteria.  As part of their study of ceramics, the art students put their creative efforts into crafting the most unusual and eye-catching “bowls” you have ever seen.  My bowl from this year’s event looks like it was discovered in an ancient Mesoamerican archeological dig, with its stamped, mysterious-looking design, textured surfaces, dark colors, and rigid lines.  My son’s bowl, on the other hand, looks like something from a cartoon – as if the creator of the bowl had frozen in time the splash pattern made by a round object dropped into a cup of milk, and colored it in vibrant hues. 

I watched the other soup bowl attendees choose their bowls:  the proud mamas who wanted at any price to preserve Junior’s masterpiece, the returning veterans who were looking to form a set, trying to match last year’s eclectic bowl with this year’s, and the art connoisseurs, who delicately sniffed their way through the vast assortment to find just the right bowl.  Why had I assumed that all the bowls would be the standard round fare I find every day in my kitchen cupboard?

Creativity is like that.  Given a forum in which to be expressed, the use of creativity can generate the most unusual designs in the tapestry of our lives.  But I digress.  Back to the purpose of the soup bowl dinner.  This dinner was conceived some years ago as an effective means of generating income for FOCUS, whose aim is to serve others, by providing home repairs, emergency assistance, food, and clothing to needy citizens of the county.  The Empty Soup Bowl Dinner is a not-to-be-forgotten experience--a simple, yet effective way to bring a community together, united in a cause to do good, and to have a delicious time doing it.

The steaming, fragrant soups are donated to the cause by students and student families.  There is a considerable selection from which to choose -- a surprising assortment of large pots full of delectable-looking soups, each one labeled as to its contents, and whether or not the soup contains meat.  After purchasing their carefully selected bowl, each diner is allowed to wander through the pots of soup, savoring the sights and smells, until one particular combination of both invites him to pause and fill his bowl to the brim.  Seating is self-selected.  Drinks are provided, with a modest selection of sodas or water to choose from.  Part of the meal also includes a smorgasbord of chips, crackers, and assorted breads to accompany the soups and clear the palate.

It is amazing what you can do with a lump of clay. 

Copyright School of Abraham, 2005.