Photo: Empty Bowls

From Empty Bowls - November 5, 2020

Empty Bowls 2020 will once again raise critical funds for our community’s hunger needs this November. In lieu of a soup meal get-together, Empty Bowls 2020 will be an online “give together” to raise the $30,000 necessary for Empty Bowls to continue its work in Cook County. All funds raised support the Cook County Food Shelf and other community organizations working to alleviate hunger in Cook County.   

The current global pandemic may have cancelled Empty Bowls’ in-person fundraiser, but it’s also responsible for an uptick in food insecurity both locally and nationwide, making it more important than ever for Empty Bowls to continue its work in Cook County. Empty Bowls urges everyone to donate at www.emptybowlscookcounty.org to make sure Cook County’s hunger needs are met in the coming year. Alternatively, send checks payable to “Empty Bowls Cook County” to Empty Bowls, P.O. Box 294, Grand Marais, MN 55604. Empty Bowls Cook County is 501c3 non-profit and donations to Empty Bowls Cook County are tax deductible to the full extent of the law.

To help with this fall’s fundraising, beautiful handmade bowls from the Grand Marais Art Colony and other local potters will be sold online. The bowl sale will go live at www.emptybowlscookcounty.org in mid-November. A selection of gift certificates and other donated items from local businesses will also be available on the website to support Empty Bowls Cook County at that time. 

With a fundraising goal of $30,000, Empty Bowls urges individuals and businesses to sponsor Empty Bowls’ 2020 efforts at one of the following levels: Event Sponsor $1000+, Business Sponsor $500 - $999, Table Sponsor $250 - $499. Please send a check payable to Empty Bowls Cook County to P.O. Box 294, Grand Marais, MN 55604 or give online at www.emptybowlscookcounty.org.

Empty Bowls addresses Cook County’s food insecurity through several community hunger programs. Funds from last year’s Empty Bowls event were distributed to Birch Grove Community School, Cook County Food Shelf, Cook County Public Health and Human Services, Cook County Ruby’s Pantry, Cook County Schools, Cook County Youth Agency Coalition, Cooperation Station Daycare, Great Expectations School Lunch Program, Oshki Ogimaag Charter School, and the Violence Prevention Center. 

Empty Bowls in Cook County started in 2006 and works in collaboration with the Grand Marais Art Colony and the generous donations of local businesses. Currently, the Empty Bowls steering committee plans to do a drive-thru soup meal event fundraiser in spring 2021.