Do you like cooking shows? My grandson and I do. It’s fun to see all of the delicious food items on the screen, but I think part of the appeal is the underlying message taught along the way. The final results, though inspiring, often look far too complicated to manage. But in the show, they teach us how to get remarkable results by breaking the big task into small steps. Equally important, if you’ve ever watched cooks in a restaurant, is the idea that the meal doesn’t need to be prepared by just one person. It takes the whole kitchen staff, working together, to turn a pile of raw ingredients into a truly fabulous meal.
It’s a good life lesson. The world around us can often seem overwhelming, not just problems on a global scale but also problems that touch close to home. For many in our community, something like an unexpected car repair, a high utility bill, an illness, or an injury can leave them facing tough decisions. Sadly, many find that once the unexpected problem has been dealt with, they have no money left to buy food. So they and their families go without meals until their finances recover. This problem is not as rare as we would like to believe. Currently, over 17,000 people right here in Warren County (1 in every 8 people) do not know where their next meal will come from.
It’s a huge problem affecting men, women, and children throughout our community. But just like those folks working together in the big kitchens on the cooking shows, if we work together, we can take what we’ve got and make something truly noteworthy; we can get food to those in need. We at St. James have put together a recipe that we think is a great first step in getting food to our friends and neighbors in need of a meal. Here’s the recipe:
Bols Vides Remplis*
Feeds over 1500
Ingredients
•Hundreds of beautiful handmade ceramic bowls donated by caring individuals.
•Gallons of delicious soups donated by local restaurants
•Hundreds of napkins, spoons, cups, and accessories kindly given by local businesses and individuals.
•Dozens of volunteers
•Citizens like you, who would like to make a difference
Directions
- Work with area potters, students, and volunteers to gather bowls.
- Coordinate with area restaurants that prepare the soup.
- Graciously accept the donations of businesses and individuals and gather them.
- Announce the time and location of the event and invite the public.
- Have volunteers ready to serve the soup, prepare orders for delivery, and open the doors to greet arriving guests.
- As a final touch, ask guests to make a $15 donation. In exchange, they receive a meal of soup, bread, beverage, and dessert. They also receive a handmade ceramic bowl which makes a beautiful addition to their home and serves as a reminder that they helped provide a meal to a family that otherwise would be facing an empty bowl at mealtime.
- All money donated goes to local charities that provide food to those in need.
* Filled Empty Bowls
It’s a fairly simple recipe that requires only small efforts but produces amazing results. Would you like to give it a try? On September 14th, St. James United Methodist Church will be hosting an Empty Bowls takeout lunch from 11am-1pm. For a $15 donation, you will receive a nice meal, and you will also be helping to provide a meal to a local family in need. We’ve been serving this recipe for 11 years, and it has yet to disappoint. So, whether this is a new recipe for you or an old favorite, please join us for lunch on September 14th as we work to end hunger – one bowl at a time. For more information visit http://www.emptybowlsbg.com.
-submitted by Garry Taylor, Empty Bowls Bowling Green
