When COVID-19 gathering restrictions came down in mid-March, the Santa Barbara County Foodbank was just days away from putting on its annual Empty Bowls lunch fundraiser in Lompoc.
The event, which has been going on for 19 years in Santa Maria and 15 in Lompoc, gives community members a handmade ceramic bowl and soup meal in exchange for a modest admission price, with all proceeds benefiting the Foodbank and immediate community.
“We’d had all of our planning meetings, all of our donors lined up and everything,” Ron Lovell, an Allan Hancock College culinary instructor and longtime Empty Bowls committee member, told the Sun. “That’s the biggest fundraiser that the Foodbank has.”
As the year went on with no signs of a slowing pandemic, it became clear that Santa Maria and Santa Barbara’s Empty Bowls events—which are normally held in October and November—would need some changes this year.
So the Foodbank decided to get creative and “turn the event on its head,” Foodbank Marketing Communications Manager Judith Smith-Meyer told the Sun.
Normally the Foodbank would procure a few thousand bowls from artists, ceramics students, and others in the community for the event. Local restaurants would typically donate gallons of soup, and Lovell’s students also normally make and serve soup.
“It’s just an excellent hands-on experience,” Lovell said.
But this year’s event will look a little different.
There will still be a fundraiser, but instead of receiving a bowl and soup, donors can be motivated by knowing that their contributions will be doubled through a $60,000 matching fund, thanks to generous community sponsors. Some of the largest sponsors include Phillips 66, The Wood-Claeyssens Foundation, and Aera Energy.
A small set of exclusive artist bowls will also be given to donors who give above a certain amount. Empty Bowls Founder and Committee Chair Danyel Dean and committee member Merrillee Ford made 50 one-of-a-kind, hand-thrown and painted artist bowls that represent notable local landmarks. These bowls will be available as gifts to those who make a donation of $1,000. Local teen artist Parker Andelman also contributed 20 hand-lathed wooden bowls that will be available as a gift for a donation of $500.
But if a contribution that large isn’t in your financial ability, Smith-Meyer emphasized that any sized donation is greatly appreciated and will be doubly felt by the Foodbank.
“If people were to go online and donate what they would normally spend on a ticket to Empty Bowls, $25, thanks to this matching gift the Foodbank will get $50,” she said.
In lieu of restaurants donating soup, the Foodbank is encouraging community members to patronize those establishments that have helped in the past and might need an extra boost of business during the pandemic.
“We’re just kind of turning it around: This is a year when they need our help,” Smith-Meyer said. “There’s a huge list on our website of the restaurants in each city—Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, and Lompoc—that are so generous every other year with donating soup so that we can host our fundraiser. We wanted to use this as an opportunity to encourage the community to support those restaurants this year.”
Empty Bowls 2020 will officially kick off with a Fill the Foodbank drive-through event on Nov. 14, during which community members can drop off turkeys, chickens, and nonperishable food at the Santa Barbara warehouse or Santa Maria Trader Joe’s parking lot from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Access the Empty Bowls virtual fundraiser at foodbanksbc.org/emptybowls2020.
“We are very aware as a food bank that we are part of the local economy, the local food system,” Smith-Meyer said. “That goes both ways. It’s not always just about receiving donations and providing them to low-income community members. Sometimes it’s about supporting the recovery of the economy.”
Highlights
• The Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department is offering “fun, free, and socially distanced recreational programming for the month of November,” the city announced in a statement. Designed for children ages 6 to 12, Rec on the Move will run from Nov. 2 to 25 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 3 to 5 p.m. Monday programming will be held at Buena Vista Park, 800 South Pine St.; Wednesdays at Rotary Centennial Park, 2625 South College Drive; and Fridays at Tunnell Park, 1100 North Palisade Drive. “Weekly activities such as All Things Slimy; Bubble Soccer; Scrap City; and You Run, I Run, We all Run! and more will be held at these parks,” according to the Recreation and Parks Department. The drop-in program doesn’t require registration, and space is limited to 10 participants at a time. The Recreation and Parks Department will follow CDC guidelines, with masks and social distancing required.
Staff Writer Malea Martin wrote this week’s Spotlight. Send tips to spotlight@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Nov 12-19, 2020.
