“When we started right before 11 a.m. we had cars lined up so the rain did not deter a lot folks,” GSM Executive Director Leesa Stephens said Thursday morning. “In Texas we never turn down rain. You plan an outdoor event and it’s usually a 95 percent chance that it won’t rain. But today we had a downpour and we always figure God knows what we need and when we need it. We’ll dry out.”
The Empty Bowls Project serves as GSM’s largest fundraiser of the year and 90% of the proceeds stay in Brown County and benefit local hunger ministries such as the Food Pantry, Food for Thought, Homebound Program, Homeless Boxes, the Deer Project, the Pig Project and the Mobile Food Pantry. The remaining 10% is donated to an international hunger relief organization and this year GSM has selected Food for the Hungry because of their child hunger program.
“The whole concept of the Empty Bowls Project is you take home an empty bowl which reminds you that there are people with empty stomachs,” Stephens said in an earlier interview. “The bowl is a reminder to fight hunger and food insecurity all year round. From a financial standpoint, 2020 was our most successful Empty Bowls Project ever. People had seen on the news the food banks line around the country and I think they recognized there was a need and people just came out. We didn’t know what to expect and it was amazing. We want to extend our sincere thanks to the community.”
With this year’s event not being held in the Brownwood Coliseum as it traditionally is, coupons from local restaurants were distributed to those who acquired a bowl for a minimum donation of $10.
“Our Soup-er Samaritan food sponsors, these are area restaurants and businesses that when we couldn’t be in the coliseum and we couldn’t serve hot soup, they came through and offered us coupons to their restaurants,” Stephens said. “That’s a way we can give back to the community because each one of these coupons drives business back to these food sponsors.”
Trophy bowls will be presented to the Soup-er Samaritan food sponsors, as well as the Soup-er Hero, Sour-er Bowl Champ, Soup-er Achiever, and Soup-er Star level sponsors.
Another change this year is the sale of additional items, which usually takes place in the coliseum, is being held at a different time and location. This year, the GSM Resale Store will be the site of the event from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday.
“What we do is all year we collect high-end items, unique collectibles, one-on-kind things, designer-label clothing, purses, shoes and so forth, and we have a special sale of those items once a year during Empty Bowls,” Stephens said. “These are all designer items at gently used prices. Some of these items are brand new and have never been out of the box.”
