Bennington Empty Bowls: COVID Edition
Tax deductible
NOT A TYPICAL YEAR
In a typical year, Bennington, VT would be looking forward to its annual Empty Bowls Soup Supper in mid-November. This highly anticipated local event is hosted by Greater Bennington Interfaith Community Services (GBICS) and involved more than 1000 people in 2019.
However, 2020 is anything but a typical year. The COVID pandemic has put a damper on social gatherings, especially those involving hundreds of people like our Empty Bowls Soup Supper. We are sad because Bennington Empty Bowls is truly one of those events that is at the heart of our community. Many people look forward to the event each year. In fact, we begin fielding questions about ticket availability early each fall.
NO EMPTY BOWLS in 2020
So, we are moving forward with the 2020 BENNINGTON EMPTY BOWLS, COVID EDITION. In a year when we cannot come together as a community to share a simple meal of soup and bread, we can still work to ensure that there are NO EMPTY BOWLS in our community. You can help make that happen!
There will be two parts to 2020 BENNINGTON EMPTY BOWLS, COVID EDITION. The first is a request to everyone who has supported or attended Empty Bowls in the past to make a financial contribution. If you have ever attended, volunteered for, made a bowl for or contributed to Bennington Empty Bowls, we need you now! 100% of proceeds will be used to purchase food for distribution at the Kitchen Cupboard in the coming year. In past years, ticket sales alone raised more than $10,000 and an additional $15,000 was raised by local businesses. Donations have ranged from $10 to $5,000.
HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE
The 2020 Bennington Empty Bowls, COVID Edition will take place largely on-line, between November 1 and November 15. Donations can be made through our GoFundMe page . We will also accept donations through the GBICS website or by check (GBICS Empty Bowls, PO Box 702, Bennington, VT 05201).
In order to be successful, we ask that after you make your own donation, that you forward this request to three of your friends who share your concern for those in our community who are experiencing food insecurity. Just think of the impact we could have if each of your friends then sent on the message to three of their friends who share this concern.
BENNINGTON EMPTY BOWLS GOALS
Started in 2009, Bennington Empty Bowls has always had two goals:
Firstly, we aim to raise awareness that a significant percentage of local residents are food insecure. This means they lack consistent access to enough food for an active and healthy life. Those most affected are households with children and those with senior citizens. Many of the households dealing with food insecurity have one or more adults who work for pay. The money just does not go far enough to be able to buy nutritious food, including fruits and vegetables.
The second goal for Bennington Empty Bowls is to raise funds to purchase the food distributed through the Kitchen Cupboard, a program of GBICS.
IT WOULD NOT BE BENNINGTON EMPTY BOWLS WITHOUT SOME SOUP
And, because we cannot have an Empty Bowls event without some soup, participants in the weekly Sunday night community supper at Second Congregational Church will receive a take-home container of delicious soup as part of the evening’s meal on Sunday, November 15, 2020, the date that was originally planned for this event back in the pre-COVID days. We will ask the individuals and families who participate in that supper to serve as our proxies until we can all gather in community once again. Please give generously!
For more info, please call GBICS at [phone redacted]
GBICS COMMITMENT TO LESSENING IMPACT OF POVERTY
GBICS is a Bennington-based, non-profit organization that recognizes that living in or near poverty affects our health. The GBICS mission is “to advance the health of our neighbors by helping them meet their basic human needs including food, shelter and access to health care.”
While GBICS cannot unilaterally solve the problem of poverty, our programs work to lessen poverty’s impact. The Kitchen Cupboard is open three days each week and offers free fresh and healthy produce as well as basic foods such as grains, beans, canned goods and frozen meat to anyone in need.
In addition to the Kitchen Cupboard food distribution program, GBICS also offers access to free medical care for adults without insurance through its Bennington Free Clinic. The clinic offers special services for women’s health through its You First program and works with the State of Vermont to enroll Vermonters in health care insurance programs. Another highly regarded GBICS program is the Greater Bennington Interfaith Food and Fuel Fund, which assists those in need with emergency expenses such as rent and utilities. Rounding out the GBICS offerings is the Bennington Oral Health Coalition, which works to promote improved community dental outcomes, and Bennington Food Fit , a cooking, and nutrition program that teaches participants how to eat more healthfully on a budget.
In a typical year, Bennington, VT would be looking forward to its annual Empty Bowls Soup Supper in mid-November. This highly anticipated local event is hosted by Greater Bennington Interfaith Community Services (GBICS) and involved more than 1000 people in 2019.
However, 2020 is anything but a typical year. The COVID pandemic has put a damper on social gatherings, especially those involving hundreds of people like our Empty Bowls Soup Supper. We are sad because Bennington Empty Bowls is truly one of those events that is at the heart of our community. Many people look forward to the event each year. In fact, we begin fielding questions about ticket availability early each fall.
NO EMPTY BOWLS in 2020
So, we are moving forward with the 2020 BENNINGTON EMPTY BOWLS, COVID EDITION. In a year when we cannot come together as a community to share a simple meal of soup and bread, we can still work to ensure that there are NO EMPTY BOWLS in our community. You can help make that happen!
There will be two parts to 2020 BENNINGTON EMPTY BOWLS, COVID EDITION. The first is a request to everyone who has supported or attended Empty Bowls in the past to make a financial contribution. If you have ever attended, volunteered for, made a bowl for or contributed to Bennington Empty Bowls, we need you now! 100% of proceeds will be used to purchase food for distribution at the Kitchen Cupboard in the coming year. In past years, ticket sales alone raised more than $10,000 and an additional $15,000 was raised by local businesses. Donations have ranged from $10 to $5,000.
HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE
The 2020 Bennington Empty Bowls, COVID Edition will take place largely on-line, between November 1 and November 15. Donations can be made through our GoFundMe page . We will also accept donations through the GBICS website or by check (GBICS Empty Bowls, PO Box 702, Bennington, VT 05201).
In order to be successful, we ask that after you make your own donation, that you forward this request to three of your friends who share your concern for those in our community who are experiencing food insecurity. Just think of the impact we could have if each of your friends then sent on the message to three of their friends who share this concern.
BENNINGTON EMPTY BOWLS GOALS
Started in 2009, Bennington Empty Bowls has always had two goals:
Firstly, we aim to raise awareness that a significant percentage of local residents are food insecure. This means they lack consistent access to enough food for an active and healthy life. Those most affected are households with children and those with senior citizens. Many of the households dealing with food insecurity have one or more adults who work for pay. The money just does not go far enough to be able to buy nutritious food, including fruits and vegetables.
The second goal for Bennington Empty Bowls is to raise funds to purchase the food distributed through the Kitchen Cupboard, a program of GBICS.
IT WOULD NOT BE BENNINGTON EMPTY BOWLS WITHOUT SOME SOUP
And, because we cannot have an Empty Bowls event without some soup, participants in the weekly Sunday night community supper at Second Congregational Church will receive a take-home container of delicious soup as part of the evening’s meal on Sunday, November 15, 2020, the date that was originally planned for this event back in the pre-COVID days. We will ask the individuals and families who participate in that supper to serve as our proxies until we can all gather in community once again. Please give generously!
For more info, please call GBICS at [phone redacted]
GBICS COMMITMENT TO LESSENING IMPACT OF POVERTY
GBICS is a Bennington-based, non-profit organization that recognizes that living in or near poverty affects our health. The GBICS mission is “to advance the health of our neighbors by helping them meet their basic human needs including food, shelter and access to health care.”
While GBICS cannot unilaterally solve the problem of poverty, our programs work to lessen poverty’s impact. The Kitchen Cupboard is open three days each week and offers free fresh and healthy produce as well as basic foods such as grains, beans, canned goods and frozen meat to anyone in need.
In addition to the Kitchen Cupboard food distribution program, GBICS also offers access to free medical care for adults without insurance through its Bennington Free Clinic. The clinic offers special services for women’s health through its You First program and works with the State of Vermont to enroll Vermonters in health care insurance programs. Another highly regarded GBICS program is the Greater Bennington Interfaith Food and Fuel Fund, which assists those in need with emergency expenses such as rent and utilities. Rounding out the GBICS offerings is the Bennington Oral Health Coalition, which works to promote improved community dental outcomes, and Bennington Food Fit , a cooking, and nutrition program that teaches participants how to eat more healthfully on a budget.
Fundraising team: Bennington Empty Bowls 2020 (2)
Michelle Marrocco
Organizer
Bennington, VT
Greater Bennington Interfaith Community Services Inc
Registered nonprofit
Donations are typically 100% tax deductible in the US.
Sue Andrews
Team member