3rd Avenue Marketplace Empty Bowls raises more than $17,000 for kids' meals

A record-setting Empty Bowls fundraiser at Templin’s Hotel on the River brought in more than $17,000 for the 3rd Avenue Marketplace’s Weekend Backpack Program, money that helps fill the food gap for more than 250 elementary students in Post Falls.

The April 16 event at 414 E. First Ave. in Post Falls drew 300 tickets, nearly selling out the handcrafted ceramic bowls made by local artists. Admission was listed at $25 online and $30 at the door, and the effort drew support from Templin’s on the River, Hands to Art and Post Falls Community Volunteers.

For the nonprofit, the higher total meant more than a strong night of giving. It pointed to a growing need in the Post Falls School District, where Fridays mean a longer stretch at home without school meals. The Weekend Backpack Program sends home breakfast foods, granola bars, fruit cups and simple entrees such as pop-top ravioli so children have food through the weekend. It also stocks food pantries in the guidance offices at Post Falls middle and high schools and provides meals for students at Kootenai Classical Academy.

Molli Nixon, executive director of 3rd Avenue Marketplace, said the event was the highest-grossing Empty Bowls fundraiser the nonprofit has held, and the response from the community was overwhelming. The new total was about double last year’s, when the same fundraiser brought in roughly $9,000.

The increase comes as the program has expanded. In March 2025, the Marketplace said it was serving 140 elementary students and 31 middle school students. Now it says more than 250 elementary students benefit from the backpack program, and earlier this year the nonprofit described the effort as providing weekly food for over 250 local kids. Donations still remain central to the program’s future: the Marketplace has said $25 can feed a child for two weekends, while $50 can support a child for a month.

The need is not abstract at Ponderosa Elementary. Principal Scott Ross has said students have told him they do not have food at home, a reminder that the backpacks sent home from school are doing more than supplementing meals. They are helping children get through a weekend with enough to eat, and the latest Empty Bowls turnout gave the program a stronger start on that work.