RACINE — The hearts of community members were full and bowls of soup were even fuller at the 2023 Empty Bowls fundraiser held at Festival Hall, 5 5th St., on March 6.
The community fundraiser aims to fight hunger in the Racine County community by collecting a small admission fee in exchange for endless soup.
Since 1997, the annual event has brought in $375,000 in donations over the course of its existence. This year’s event will benefit HALO Inc. and the Racine County Food Bank. That donation total will grow after tonight’s event.
Empty Bowls sees exceptional turnout
Dawn Merritt, Vice President and Senior Mortgage Loan Officer of Johnson Financial Group and Empty Bowls volunteer, was impressed with the turnout for this year’s event.
“Today, so far, we’ve probably raised right around $13,000, almost 2,000 people rolled through here this morning; now the dinner crowd is coming through,” said Merritt.
The donation total will continue to rise after tonight. Event admission, bakery, silent auction, raffles, and other donations will be tallied and go toward that total.
“It was exciting when we started this year – because of being away for two years – we didn’t know what to expect,” explained Merritt. “We didn’t know if it would be ‘out of sight, out of mind,’ or if people were excited to be back because COVID is not an element right now. But, it was the latter. We are thrilled.”
Racine came through to help fight hunger in the community.
“Very good turnout, you can always depend on Racine,” she said.
Merritt estimated that the dinner crowd could bring totals to around 3,600-4,000 people walking through the doors.
Community focused
Not one bowl was left empty at the fundraiser, but the purpose of the event is to remind community members that someone in the community does have an empty bowl and that there are people dealing with food insecurities.
Eileen Eickner, another Empty Bowls volunteer, is in charge of corporate sponsorships. She was amazed by the support from the community prior to the event as well as at the gathering.
“Empty Bowls Racine is a full community-involved event. We had over 1,500 gorgeously painted bowls donated,” said Eickner.
Heidi Fannin is the coordinator of Empty Bowls. She explained that there are hundreds of volunteers. Everyone who donated bowls, soups, bakery items, their time, or attended helped to make the event so successful.
For a list of donors and volunteers, read the Racine County Eye’s interview with Fannin.
The bowls
Event attendees select one bowl, but are allowed to eat as much soup as they’d like at the Empty Bowls fundraiser. – Credit: Emma Widmar 
After selecting a bowl to eat from, volunteers clean and sanitize the bowls prior to selecting which soups to eat. – Credit: Emma Widmar 
An event-goer waits as her soup bowl is cleaned. – Credit: Emma Widmar 
Gabe Peña enjoys his soup donated by Wells Brothers Pizza. – Credit: Emma Widmar 
Event-goers check the bottom of the soup bowls to see who crafted their chosen bowl. – Credit: Emma Widmar 
The sign outside of Festival Hall welcomes people to this annual event. – Credit: Emma Widmar 
Bowls at Empty Bowls range in a variety of colors, sizes and shapes. – Credit: Emma Widmar 
Event attendees have the option to choose their own bowl with the price of admission. – Credit: Emma Widmar 
Bowls are ceramic and handmade by local artists, students, community members, and organizations for the annual Empty Bowls fundraiser. – Credit: Emma Widmar 
Event-goers pick out a unique bowl made by volunteers in the community. Over 1,500 bowls were donated to Empty Bowls in 2023. – Credit: Emma Widmar
The food
Jonna Chiapete, Leanne LaValle and Helena Boles enjoy their first Empty Bowls event. – Credit: Emma Widmar 
Nancy Gibson walks back to her table with a smile on her face and a bowl full of soup. – Credit: Emma Widmar 
69 soup donors provided the meal for the 2023 Empty Bowls Racine event. – Credit: Emma Widmar 
Bakery items were available for sale at the 2023 Empty Bowls event. – Credit: Emma Widmar 
Breads were also available at the fundraiser. They were included in the price of admission and donated by local bakeries and businesses. – Credit: Emma Widmar 
An event-goer enjoying a locally-made and donated soup. – Credit: Emma Widmar 
Soup donations provided a hearty, warm meal to those in the Racine community. Bread was available and enjoyed by many. – Credit: Emma Widmar
The people
Racine Police Department Officer, Jessie, serves soup to those in attendance. – Credit: Emma Widmar 
Local business owner, JJ McAuliffe, attends the fundraiser and enjoys soup before volunteering to serve soup. – Credit: Emma Widmar 
City of Racine Cory Mason fills an event-goer’s bowl with soup the 2023 Empty Bowls event. – Credit: Emma Widmar 
Trevor Jung, the City of Racine’s Transit and Mobility Director, volunteering at the beginning of the dinner shift of the Empty Bowls event. – Credit: Emma Widmar 
Joan Roehre, owner of Social on Sixth, came to volunteer at Empty Bowls with two ladles: one to serve with and one to sing into. – Credit: Emma Widmar 
Alderman and mayoral candidate Henry Perez washes dishes and bumps elbows with an Empty Bowls event-goer. – Credit: Emma Widmar 
Local business owner JJ McAuliffe serves soup at the event. – Credit: Emma Widmar 
Miss Racine 2023, Margaret Hinze, serves soup at the dinner shift. – Credit: Emma Widmar
More people
City of Racine local officials volunteer their time at the 2023 soup fundraiser at the dinner shift. – Credit: Emma Widmar 
For a $15 admission fee, event-goers are able to sample and enjoy multiple soups donated by a variety of businesses and organizations while donating to a worthy cause. – Credit: Emma Widmar 
After Mayor Cory Mason served April Kemen a bowl of soup, they smiled for a photo at this year’s Empty Bowls event. – Credit: Emma Widmar 
Volunteers hand out bread to event-goers. – Credit: Emma Widmar 
The dinner crowd was estimated to rally event attendance to 3,600-4,000 people in total. – Credit: Emma Widmar
The Auction
A silent auction took place in person and online to benefit the Empty Bowls fundraiser. – Credit: Emma Widmar 
Raffles tickets pile up in mason jars at 2023 Empty Bowls. Various local businesses and organizations donated items and certificates with proceeds benefiting the fundraiser. – Credit: Emma Widmar 
Christine and Dan Padilla, owners of Twin Dragon Games, circle the dining hall at Festival Hall selling raffle tickets. – Credit: Emma Widmar 
A silent auction item available at Empty Bowls. – Credit: Emma Widmar 
Patrons peruse items available in the silent auction and the raffle. – Credit: Emma Widmar
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When asked what Fannin’s favorite part about the event was, she said, “Honestly, the community coming together.”
Togetherness is what it’s all about.
Find out more about this event by visiting the Empty Bowls website.
Updates are also given frequently on their Facebook and Instagram pages.
Local nonprofits
Local businesses and nonprofits make up the backbone of our community. The Racine County Eye, which includes the Kenosha Lens, is your local news source that serves our diverse communities. Become a subscriber to stay up-to-date with local news.
Follow us on Facebook: Racine County Eye or Kenosha Lens to make sure you get the latest news.
Racine County Eye and Kenosha Lens – Journalism that serves.
