Bowls created by Gray Catbird Pottery Studio are laid out at the Chester Railway Station “Empty Bowls” fundraiser to raise money for the Huntington Food Pantry.
Reminder Publishing photo by Amy Porter
HUNTINGTON — After all of the 272 bowls created for the “Empty Bowls” fundraiser for the Huntington Food Pantry sold, the goal of $10,000 was reached, according to Dale Rogers, proprietor of the Gray Catbird Pottery & Art Studio.
Rogers, who started wheel-throwing bowls for the project over the summer, was inspired after having participated in an Empty Bowls fundraiser years ago started by her mentor Adero Willard at Holyoke Community College, which she remembers fondly.
Empty Bowls is a grassroots movement by artists and crafts people in cities and towns around the world to raise money for food related charities that care for and feed the hungry in their communities. Since starting, Empty Bowls has supported food-related charitable organizations around the world, and has raised millions of dollars to help end hunger.
Rogers’ students at the pottery studio were happy to help with the glazing. Potter Linda Siska, who gives classes at the studio, also volunteered to make bowls, as did other local potters. Rogers made 200 of the bowls herself.
The bowls were sold at four locations — the Chester Railway Station, Montgomery Town Hall, Stanton Hall in Huntington and the Pioneer Valley Assembly of God, where the food pantry is located. ‘Empty bowls’ were also sold at the Gray Catbird Pottery Studio.
Each event also offered cups of soup made by Darryl Fisk of Moltebrey’s Market and rolls by the Mennonite community along with music by area musicians to everyone that attended.
“Special thanks to the Pioneer Valley Assembly of God which faithfully supports this mission day in, day out, and to Laura Gavioli for her dedicated work as director of the Food Pantry,” Rogers said after announcing the tally.
“Also, heartfelt thanks to Darryl Fisk at Moltenbrey’s Market for our excellent soup, the Mennonite community for our delicious rolls, the musicians for the lovely ambience [Ed Bentley & Friends, Kara and Jerry Noble, and the PVAG worship team]. Deep thanks to all the volunteer makers & artists who created the bowls, the event volunteers, and to the Chester Railway Foundation and the towns of Montgomery and Huntington for providing the venues for the events. Thank you also to Westfield Bank and the Chester Fire Department for their support of this project.
To every single one of you who purchased a bowl and/or donated to this very good cause, please know that you are a valued and appreciated member of this team. Without all of you, this blessing of our people could not be happening. So grateful am I to have been a part of our good work together,” Rogers said.
The Empty Bowls project started to answer a need expressed by the Huntington Food Pantry, which serves people in all of the area’s hilltowns, to meet the rising demand for food this year. Recently, the demand has increased even more with the specter of SNAP cuts and the current economic uncertainty.
“I wanted to say a huge thanks to Dale and every person that participated in Empty Bowls,” said Gavioli. “In the short term, the funds are being used to purchase food. This time of year is always much busier, but the SNAP situation has magnified the need. Our intake has nearly doubled over the past few weeks, and our food donations haven’t been able to keep up, so the fundraiser was exactly what the pantry needed to keep us viable and able to take care of our community.”
Gavioli said in the longer view, their box truck, which is the backbone for food collection, also needs work, making the assistance at this time even more crucial. “We need to keep it on the road,” she said.
The Huntington Food Pantry, located in the basement floor of the Pioneer Valley Assembly of God at 63 Old Chester Road, is open on Thursdays from 9-11:30 a.m. and 2-4:30 p.m.
The Gray Catbird Pottery & Art Studio at 22 E. Main St. in Huntington offers pottery classes and workshops in other mediums by local artists. For more information, contact Rogers at graycatbirdpottery@gmail.com.
