Helena Food Share Empty Bowls Fundraiser Set for April 16 at Civic Center

With $60 tickets already sold out, Helena Food Share's Empty Bowls Helena fundraiser is pressing toward a $100,000 goal with less than half the money raised, leaving the online silent auction as the remaining entry point for Lewis and Clark County residents who want to help close the gap before doors open April 16 at the Helena Civic Center.

The event begins at 4:30 p.m. and includes a ceramic bowl crafted by the Clay Arts Guild of Helena and the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts, along with soups, bread, and desserts donated by local restaurants and bakeries. The fundraising page shows $45,295 raised toward the $100,000 target, with 100% of ticket revenue and donations directed to food programs serving Helena households.

Those without in-person tickets can register for a free online auction ticket and bid from home via smartphone or computer. Ticket holders attending the Civic Center event can also access the auction through their phones or computers available on-site.

The momentum behind the April 16 event was built in part at The Bray's Frances Senska Center for Education and Engagement on March 15, where more than 120 Helena residents showed up to handcraft bowls for the fundraiser during the Community Bowl Fest. The event required no registration or prior experience; participants were asked for a suggested $5 donation to cover materials and firing fees and could drop in for one, two, or three hours.

Helena Food Share Communications Director Patty White traced the event's origins back further than its current run. "Empty Bowl started about four years with Helena Food Share but many years before that with another organization in town," White said. "When we started it, the Archie Bray and other clay artists from the Clay Arts Guild and Mud Hole, they came out and said we want to build bowls for this event, and a couple of years ago, the people at Archie Bray said, 'Hey, let's get the community involved!' And it just fits so perfectly with this event to get the community involved in making the bowls."

White described the April 16 gathering as straightforward in its appeal: "It's a great time to come together with community, get a bowl, grab a bite to eat with food that's donated from restaurants around town."

Stockman Bank is the presenting sponsor for Empty Bowls Helena, with HJ Hudson Consulting listed as the gold sponsor. Silver sponsors include Odegaard Injury Lawyers, Bravera Bank, Great West Engineering, Headwaters Hospice and Palliative Care, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana, and DA Davidson. Clay sponsors, whose support helps fund the ceramics side of the event, include Blackfoot River Brewing Co., AlphaGraphics, EcoMontana, and Norcott Legal alongside the Clay Arts Guild, Archie Bray Foundation, and The Mud Hole.

More information on Empty Bowls Helena is available through the Helena Food Share website.