Not knowing where your next meal will come from is a reality for many in rural Arizona. Across the state, more than 1 million people face food insecurity daily. In Navajo and Apache counties, the picture is even more bleak. According to Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap (2023), Apache County has the highest rate of food insecurity in the state. Navajo County is a close second, tied with Yuma County, with 19.5 percent of the population facing hunger.
To help fill the local need, Northland Pioneer College (NPC) will once again hold its annual “Empty Bowls” soup luncheon to help fight hunger. For the third year in a row, NPC is partnering with the RE:center, a local non-profit organization that provides vital services to increase health, safety, and self-sufficiency in our communities. In addition to providing food boxes, the RE:center runs a soup kitchen out of its Pinetop location and serves free hot meals to those in need four days a week.
NPC invites the public to participate in a bowl “Make-a-Thon” on Friday, September 12, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the college’s ceramic studio located in Room 104 of the Aspen Center at the NPC Show Low campus. The bowls created during the ‘Make-a-Thon’ event will be used to serve a simple meal of soup and bread during NPC’s Empty Bowls fundraising luncheon, which will be held at the Show Low campus on Friday, October 31, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., or until the soup and bread run out.
For a donation of $10, you’ll receive one of the uniquely handcrafted bowls made during the public Make-a-Thon, generously filled with hot soup donated by Persnikkity’s in Show Low, and a portion of fresh, warm bread from Kathleen Norton at The Bread Shed in Lakeside. The bowl you use will be yours to keep as a reminder of all the empty bowls in the world. Proceeds from the event go directly to the RE:center. Last year’s Empty Bowls event brought in over $2,554 in donations. Donations can also be made directly to the RE:center online during the event.
Empty Bowls is an international nonprofit grassroots effort by ceramicists and educators to raise awareness of food insecurity in our communities. “Help us build the bowls to fill the need and get your hands a little dirty,” said NPC Art Faculty Magda Gluszek, who oversees the college’s Empty Bowls project and is a well-known ceramist. “This is a fun way to get involved in something that benefits our community.”
Due to space constraints, reservations are required for this year’s Make-a-Thon. If you would like to join the bowl-making effort, please contact Magda Gluszek at (928) 532-6176 or email magda.gluszek@npc.edu at least 24 hours before the event.
The RE:center, founded by theCHURCH, works to connect families to services by offering programs and working with community partners to support their Survive-to-Thrive initiative. The organization does not discriminate services based on religious beliefs, and in addition to a food pantry, helps individuals and families find assistance with medical and dental care, behavioral health, re-entry, housing, transportation, parental support, early childhood learning, mentorship, job training, and, if requested, spiritual guidance. For more information, visit the organization’s website, www.rcaz.us.
Northland Pioneer College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, veteran status, religion, marital status, gender, age, or disability in admission or access to, or treatment or employment in its educational programs or activities. For more information about NPC programs and services, visit www.npc.edu or call (800) 266-7845.
