Annual Second Harvest Food Bank fundraiser makes in-person return

While food bank needs improved in 2021 compared to 2020, they were still greatly increased from what community needs looked like pre-pandemic.

The Second Harvest Food Bank of Clark, Champaign & Logan Counties served more than 6.3 million meals in 2021. The number is promising compared to the nearly 10.5 million served in 2020, but is still stretched well past the 4.8 million from 2019.

To help support this major community need, Second Harvest hosts it's annual Empty Bowls fundraiser in each county, with Clark County's event to be from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, April 21, at Wittenberg University's Shouvlin Center, 737 N. Fountain Ave., Springfield. The Champaign County Empty Bowls will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, April 28, at the Champaign County Fairgrounds Merchant Building in Urbana.

"It's open to the community and family friendly," says Audrey Vanzant, development manager for Second Harvest.

Everything for the event is donated - the bowls by local students and artists and the food by local restaurants, says Vanzant. Businesses, organizations, and individuals also pre-purchase sponsorships to support the event.

The cost to purchase a bowl and a meal is $20. And there's intentionally no pre-registration, Vanzant says, adding that supporters standing and waiting in line to get their bowl and soup is created to represent the way people affected by food insecurity have to wait in line to receive meals from a food bank or soup kitchen. 

The event is more than a fundraiser. It's also an exercise in empathy.

"In a way, it's an advocacy event," Vanzant says. "It helps to bring awareness because people don't understand the weight and difference food insecurity makes in someone's life.

"People don't get in line at 4 a.m. and wait for food if they don't actually need it. And many people are privileged enough to not have to wait at 4 a.m. without even knowing what the food they'll receive will be. But some people - our neighbors - don't have that privilege."

Vanzant says that because of Second Harvest's ability to purchase food in bulk for discounted rates compared to what people would find at a grocery store, each $20 donation affords the food bank the ability to serve 120 meals.

"Hunger is a huge issue in the tri-county area," she says. "We say at Second Harvest that $1 is equal to six meals we can serve."

In the last couple years, the event shifted online because of the pandemic, but it will once again return in-person, with some slight adjustments for 2022. Instead of attendees eating together at the event locations, they will each pick a bowl and their favorite soup to-go to ensure everyone feels safe and remains healthy, Vanzant says.

"Empty bowls is an opportunity for the community to be humble and understand what so many people in our area are experiencing," she says. "People taking time out of their day to wait in line (at an Empty Bowls event) can make a difference for someone else who might not otherwise be able to eat today or tomorrow. It's important to bring that awareness to people who are not experiencing food insecurity."