Combatting Community Hunger

One the most popular events in the Springfield community and on campus, Wittenberg is again excited to host the 32nd Empty Bowls event on Monday, March 23, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the University's Center Dining Room inside the Benham-Pence Student Center.

A loosely run national fundraising campaign aimed at combating food insecurity in local communities, Empty Bowls events are hosted all over the country. Wittenberg has been running its event for 31 years with great success. The 31-year fund raising total for the event now exceeds $705,785, which equates to nearly 4 million meals for those in need in Clark, Champaign, and Logan counties.

In collaboration with the Second Harvest Food Bank, Wittenberg ceramic students, staff, faculty, Springfield High School's Art Department, and community members throw, glaze, and fire approximately 1,000 bowls, 90 percent of which are made on Empty Bowls Throwing Days that take place on Saturday/Sunday afternoons.

The Second Harvest Food Bank helps to gather sponsors to donate soup and bread for the event. Sponsors include Parkhurst Dining Services and several local restaurants. Then, on the night of the event, patrons choose a bowl to purchase at a cost of $20 each and enjoy an all-you-can-eat soup dinner and conversation with fellow community members. Patrons then take the bowl home with them as a reminder that many people in the community are hungry.

Proceeds from the event go to the Second Harvest Food Bank to help address food insecurity in Springfield and Clark County. The event raised more than $39,000 in 2025 and had a record high of $50,187 in 2019. This year's goal is to raise more than $50,000.

Sarah Baker, class of 2019 and adjunct professor of art, from Springfield, Ohio, designed this year's event T-shirts, which will be available for purchase.

As the only food bank in Clark, Champaign, and Logan Counties, Second Harvest distributes more than six million pounds of food annually, with more than four million pounds going directly to Clark County. Second Harvest Food Bank's daily operation, which consists of sourcing and gathering food, sorting and cataloging the food, and then warehousing the inventory to be distributed to agency members throughout a three-county service area.

Second Harvest Food Bank is a member of Feeding America and the Ohio Association of Foodbanks and is responsible for safe handling of all food products, adhering to state and federal guidelines, including providing member oversight to pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters.

For information or to become a sponsor of this year's Empty Bowls event, please contact either Dooley at [email protected] or Aliyah Baker, development specialist, Second Harvest Food Bank, at (937) 325-8715 ext. 102 or [email protected].