Today! Empty Bowls fundraiser to help fight hunger in Cook County on with annual event on November 19th
Nov 19, 2025 09:31AM ● By Content Editor
By Laura Durenberger-Grunow - Boreal Community Media - November 4, 2025
The annual Empty Bowls soup fundraiser event will be held on Wednesday, November 19th, 2025, at Up Yonder in Grand Marais, as part of a community-focused effort to address local food needs. The event, first held in 2006, is the organization's largest fundraiser and brings together local artists, restaurants, and community members for good food and fellowship to collectively fight hunger.
As in past years, community members will have the opportunity to attend a lunch session from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and/or a dinner session from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Soup donated from a variety of local restaurants, bread, and Java Moose coffee will be served. To-go containers will also be available for purchase for those who want to support the event but can't stay and eat.
Of course, two favorite components will once again take place: the handmade bowl sale, with bowls and mugs made by community members and the Grand Marais Art Colony, and the bake sale, with numerous treat offerings donated by community members and local restaurants.
(Volunteers are needed to help make treats for the bake sale and to assist with a variety of tasks during the event. To learn more or to sign up to donate a baked good, click here. To sign up to volunteer during the event, click here.)
Donations collected during the Empty Bowls event will be granted to a variety of local non-profits that provide direct food assistance across Cook County.
According to Beth Kennedy, a board member for Empty Bowls, all schools in Cook County, as well as the YMCA, receive funds to help buy afternoon snacks for kids. In 2024, 30 organizations were granted up to $5,000 to help feed kids, families, and Seniors. Additionally, gift cards were purchased from local grocery stores, donated, and distributed through programs such as Operation Family Christmas and organizations such as the Violence Prevention Center, the Sawtooth Mountain Clinic Giving Tree, and local daycares.
The event takes place at a time when federal food assistance programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), have been subject to funding instability due to the recent federal government shutdown. Following last week's court rulings requiring the use of emergency funds, the current administration announced partial funding for November, covering half of the usual benefits.
Empty Bowls is a worldwide grassroots movement started in 1990 in Michigan to raise money for local food-related charities. The Cook County chapter focuses on raising awareness and providing funds to local non-profit organizations that assist residents facing food insecurity. To learn more or donate, click here.
