The return of healthy competition for a good cause. That was the heart and soul of this year’s Empty Bowls.
Considered a cross between an event and a fundraiser, Empty Bowls, everyone’s favorite soup for charity occasion, took place on Nov. 3.
“It is an event geared toward poverty awareness both in Upland and around the world,” senior and World Opportunities Co-director Emma Stotz said.
The event was put on by the World Opportunities cabinet of Taylor World Outreach (TWO). The cabinet coordinates the art department to make the bowls, the professors to bring soup to the soup-making competition and the Hodson Dining Commons to rent the space and set up, as well as the charity of choice.
World Opportunities chose to raise funds for the Congo Initiative this year, an organization associated with the graduate assistant for TWO, Kizito Kalima. On their website, this organization “educates ethical leaders who have integrity; invests in a sustainable vibrant Congolese society; and develops grassroots initiatives for peace, hope, and justice.”
The Congo Initiative seeks to remedy some of the country’s issues by empowering their own people to be leaders in their country across industries.
Stotz emphasized the multifaceted approach the organization has taken with the problems facing their country, emphasizing not only poverty-eliminating initiatives but also education.
The schooling used to be adult-focused.
“But then they realized that there kept being this snag of younger kids to take care of,” Stotz said. “So now there are lower school opportunities for the children of the students.”
The event gets the whole student body involved. The wheel throwing class of eight people produced 130 unique bowls, all of which sold out in the first 30 minutes of the event.
There were also 12 soups available for students to choose from, the winner being a white chicken chili. Hall director and soup judge Peter Yeung said there was one obvious winner of the soup tasting competition.
Yeung, along with two of his colleagues judged the soups on several criteria including taste, look and creativity. Yeung did mention that the winning soup was not considered the most creative, however, because it was not the only white chicken chili.
Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering Jeff Cramer has participated six times with his similar-to-the-winning soup.
“I think Empty Bowls is an amazing event and I try to support it every year with my chicken tortilla soup,” Cramer said. “I don’t think my chicken tortilla soup will ever win because it is not fancy, but it is comfort food and I think everyone likes it.”
This was one of the events that changed significantly due to the pandemic regulations. Last year, students remember receiving soup recipes with their bowls.
This year, the event looked more similar to normal though on a smaller scale. In a 2018 Echo News article, the event was recorded to have 223 bowls for sale along with over 20 soups, all of which students lined up for an hour and a half early to guarantee their place in line.
But many are hopeful for the future of this event.
“There were fewer soups this year,” Cramer said. “I hope next year we can make it back to the huge room full of soups.”
