April 22, 2017 – Portsmouth, NH – To the Editor: — Our Portsmouth community made a big impact on hunger at the first annual Empty Bowls Fundraiser held at Portsmouth Middle School on March 31. Over 300 families came out to raise awareness of hunger in our community and spend a night giving back! It was great to see so many families enjoying a simple meal, treasuring their handmade ceramic bowls, and participating in an event that helps our neighbors in need.
The amount of support seen throughout the course of making this event happen was overwhelming and made it clear to see why Portsmouth is such a wonderful city and community to be part of.
Thank you to the Portsmouth School Department, the Portsmouth Middle School Community Builders, Student Council, Parents Advisory Council, and food service team for hosting the event in the beautiful Portsmouth Middle School Stokel Commons, and for providing our youth with the important lesson of giving back – our future certainly looks bright!
Thank you to the Portsmouth Herald/Seacoast Media Group and iHeart Media Group for providing exceptional advertising through newspaper articles and radio spotlights. Thank you to Ambrosia Gardens for making our tables beautiful and Infinite Imaging for a beautifully printed graphic. Thank you to the Blue Mermaid, Thirsty Moose, Dos Amigos, Tj’s, Old Ferry Landing, What a Crock, The Green Bean, Beach Pea Baking Company, and NH Distribution for donating delicious soup, bread, and drinks for our event – it’s no wonder why our restaurant scene is incredible!
Thank you to the St. John’s Youth Ministry and Girl Scout Troop 10854 for baking and donating over 400 cookies – we think you’re pretty sweet! Thank you to the over 30 local businesses and supporters who donated auction items to add another element of fun to the event. Thank you to Piscataqua Savings Bank, Federal Savings Bank, and Ben’s Auto Body for participating as part of our corporate sponsors.
And finally, thank you to the community for recognizing the importance of helping our neighbors in need and the many residents who are food insecure right here in Portsmouth. Through the support of our community we were able to raise over $10,000 dollars at our first annual Empty Bowls. All of the proceeds will support the Seacoast Family Food Pantry and their continued goal of providing assistance to food insecure residents and families in Portsmouth and surrounding Seacoast communities! Watch for the second annual Empty Bowls next year as we look forward to bringing more of our community together to fight hunger.
Kristin Kern and Katelyn Beach
Portsmouth
Read the original article from the Seacoast Online on April 22, 2017.
https://www.seacoastonline.com/news/20170407/community-makes-empty-bowls-event-success