Post Falls Empty Bowls Fundraiser Feeds 250 Kids Amid Four-Day School Week

When Post Falls School District eliminated Fridays from the school calendar, it added a problem no administrator had fully anticipated: 250 elementary students who depended on weekend meal programs suddenly needed an extra day's worth of food. On April 16, a ceramic bowl and a ladle of soup are how the 3rd Avenue Marketplace plans to close that gap.

The nonprofit's annual Empty Bowls fundraiser runs from 4 to 6:30 p.m. at Templin's Hotel on the River, offering more than 370 handcrafted ceramic bowls donated by local artists and 20 different soups for attendees to sample. Tickets are $25 online and $30 at the door, with proceeds supporting the marketplace's Weekend Backpack Program.

The program operates quietly, supplying food pantries tucked inside the guidance offices of Post Falls' middle and high schools and sending home weekend meals with elementary students who need them. Marketplace Executive Director Molli Nixon said it now serves more than 250 elementary students and remains chronically under-funded.

"It means so much to me to be able to help kiddos who really need it," Nixon said.

The four-day school week sharpened the program's urgency. With no school on Fridays, students who rely on cafeteria meals now go three consecutive days without that support, pushing the Weekend Backpack Program to scale up in both quantity and quality. Nixon said organizers are now purchasing name-brand items and foods with longer shelf life that still appeal to kids, and they're deliberate about matching what other students eat so recipients don't feel singled out.

The event draws support from Templin's on the River, Hands to Art and Post Falls Community Volunteers, with local artists and community groups contributing the bowls and soups that define the fundraiser's character.

Tickets are available at 3rdavenuemarketplace.org. The marketplace can also be reached at 208-773-0139 or molli@3rdAvenueMarketplace.org.