Empty Bowls, Full Stomachs
15th annual El Caldito fundraiser set to dish up on Oct. 19.
On Friday, Oct. 19, you can enjoy a hearty bowl of soup, take home an original pottery bowl handmade by a local artist--and help the hungry. This triple play of lunch, art and doing good is the 15th annual Empty Bowls event in Las Cruces, benefiting the El Caldito Soup Kitchen.
Each ticket-holder at Empty Bowls chooses a hand-made pottery bowl, then enjoys a soup lunch donated by local restaurants. "Take-outs" are available. The bowl is taken home as a reminder of the hungry people living in the community. Tickets are $15 when purchased at the door but may be purchased for $13 in advance at local merchants. Lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 225 W. Griggs Ave.
El Caldito Soup Kitchen, located at 999 W. Amador, has been serving the Las Cruces area for 23 years. It is a community-based volunteer organization, feeding an average of 200 people every weekday and a sack lunch on Saturday for about half that many. It also provides an annual appreciation meal for local veterans as well as special holiday meals on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Some food is donated from local sources but much food and all service items must be purchased.
For each year's Empty Bowls fundraiser, Las Cruces Potters' Guild members make more than 1,000 bowls. But that's just the beginning: Local restaurants donate gallons of soup, NMSU fraternity members collect the soup, St. Paul's Methodist Church offers its facilities, and El Caldito kitchen volunteers serve the public their "soup kitchen" lunch.
For more information on Empty Bowls,
call El Caldito at 525-3831.