MARSHFIELD, WI (OnFocus) – Marshfield Area Empty Bowls will be holding an event distributing soup to those interested with the benefits going to Soup or Socks Food Pantry.
Empty Bowls will take place on Saturday, March 12 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Hotel Marshfield. You may purchase pints of cold soup to be heated up at a time convenient for you for $10.
The event is in its 11th year and is offering a drive-thru style pickup option along with a carryout option.
The carryout option will allow guests to pickup soup as well and can choose a bowl and raffle tickets. If choosing the drive-thru option, guests will be able to stay in their vehicle as someone brings soup to their car but it will not include a bowl or raffle ticket.
Empty Bowls will be held at Hotel Marshfield and the drive-thru portion will be held at the event entrance on the East side of the building. Businesses that are contributing soups are: Culver’s (Chili), Buck-A-Neer Supper Club (Italian Wedding Soup), The Daily Grind (Duchess Soup), Nutz Deep II (Cheeseburger Soup), Hewitt Meats (Tomato Dill Soup), Weiler Convenience Stores (Beef Vegetable Soup), Melody Gardens (Chicken Dumpling Soup), Uptown Coffee (Vegan Chili), MoJo’s (Italian Wedding Soup), Perkins (Loaded Baked Potato Soup), Lumberyard Bar & Grill (Broccoli Mac & Jack Soup), Baka Chicken (Egg Drop Miso Soup), and Libby McNeill’s (Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup).
Typically, people would enter and buy a ticket which gives them a handcrafted bowl by area students or artists and they would go through a soup line and fill up their bowl with their soup of choice. This year, soups will be distributed cold and ready to be warmed up and enjoyed at home.
Empty Bowls serves as more than just a meal that people can enjoy with family, it’s also a reminder of the hunger that plagues people around the world.
“While Empty Bowls is a fun event and you leave there with this beautiful ceramic bowl that someone has created, that bowl is hopefully a reminder that someone somewhere has an empty bowl and they don’t have food to fill it,” Lewis Hartl said.
According to the United Way website, Soup or Socks is a closet and food pantry and is a volunteer organization dedicated to providing clothing and/or food, at no charge, for those in need in the greater Marshfield area.
Along with the Empty Bowls event, Soup or Socks helped families get through the COVID-19 pandemic with ample food supplies. In a 2021 interview, Lewis Hartl said for the first 11 weeks of the pandemic, Soup or Socks had been giving away over 100 boxes a week of emergency food supplies. In total, around 1,300 boxes were distributed and around 4,000 people were fed.
For more information, head to the Marshfield Area Empty Bowls Facebook Page.
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