On Oct. 10, Square Queen in Lennoxville will be lined with socially distanced tables manned by volunteers and filled with empty bowls. The annual fundraiser amasses anywhere from $6,000 to $7,000 dollars for five local food programs and has been a large community event for nine years now.
Normally, local grocery stores donate ingredients and volunteers get together to make a lunch of soup and bread for the community. Head organizer of the event, Lucy Doheny, said that this year will look different.
“With all the regulations, we can’t have soup,” she said. “Instead, we are just going to be selling the bowls, and those who come can go home and make their own soup because they’re lucky enough to have the money to do that.”
Each bowl is unique and handmade by Doheny herself and, while in previous years the community has lent a hand in decorating, Doheny has been tasked with this as well due to safety concerns. “I can make 300 bowls no problem,” she said. “It’s the decorating that makes my head hurt.”
Items will be sold at $25 and any leftovers from the sale will be available to purchase at local businesses throughout the year. “We had about 20 or 30 leftover last year. What we did was just had them for sale after the fundraiser and that money was also sent to the food banks,” said Doheny.
Doheny said that holding the event on thanksgiving weekend was no mistake. She believes it’s the perfect time to be highlighting issues like hunger in the community. “Especially because it’s a holiday surrounding food,” she said. “Many of us can’t travel to see family, so why not come join us and give back?”
Empty Bowls fundraiser to be held Thanksgiving weekend
By Reann Fournier, Special to The Record
