Empty Bowls Fundraiser

The Columbia Gorge Food Bank (CGFB) - a member of the Oregon Food Bank Network, providing free nutritious food to more than 5,000 families per month through 43 community partners in Sherman, Wasco and Hood River counties - held their first ever fundraiser on October 6, and the first of what will become an annual Empty Bowls fundraiser. Empty Bowls is an international, grassroots movement bringing together artists and craftspeople in an effort to raise awareness and contribute to combating food insecurity locally. Attendees were able to choose a bowl at the start of the meal - donated by local potters, ceramics studios, and schools across Oregon - and after they finished enjoying the soups, fresh bread, and desserts on offer, they were able to take the bowl home with them at the end of the evening.

In tandem with the in-person event, there was also an online auction featuring more than 50 handmade ceramic works, local beer and wine, and other handcrafted items all donated to help support fighting hunger in the Gorge. The CGFB’s Empty Bowls event raised $14,000 to go toward local food security programs.

The CGFB opened in 2017, and has already outgrown their space: pre-pandemic they moved about one million pounds of food a year, and now they move about two million pounds a year. As a result of this demand, CGFB is currently working on renovating a new, 11,000 square foot facility that they expect to be completed in December. It will be not just a food bank, but also a Community Food Center that will host other agencies, including Windy River Gleaners and Community Backpack Program, which provides weekend meals for kids in The Dalles. CGFB expects to hold a celebration to commemorate the opening of the new space sometime in the spring of 2023.