Graves County Empty Bowls Event April 28
By West Kentucky Star Staff
GRAVES COUNTY, KY - Twenty restaurants in Mayfield and
Graves County will offer samples of their tasty cuisine Saturday,
April 28, at the festive 5th annual Empty Bowls Event.
From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. you can try out
a smorgasbord of yummies at the big community gathering, which raises
money for the Mayfield-Graves County Food Pantry. The eating
extravaganza will be held at Trace Creek Baptist Church’s Family
Life Center, 3357 State Route 131.
For a $15 ticket each diner gets to
pick from a mixture of a unique bowls to gather samples of the
goodies. After eating, participants take the bowls home as a reminder
of hungry people around the world and in their own community.
Participating restaurants this year
are: A&B BBQ, Carr’s Steakhouse, Cracker Barrel, Dairy Queen,
Dinner Bell, Domino’s, Happy House, Hardee’s, Larry, Darrel &
Darrel, Majestic Pizza and Steak House, Mayfield Creek Market, Red’s
Donut Shop of Mayfield, Rita’s Café, Snappy Tomato, Southern Red’s
BBQ, Taco John’s, The Catfish House, Wendy’s, Wilma’s Kountry
Kitchen, and Wings, Etc.
“Each year we have been blessed to
have 20 of the local restaurants donate their time and food to help
us raise funds to feed the hungry of our county” said Claudia
Heath, who started the local effort and has served as project
coordinator each year. Local businesses donate to sponsor the cost of
the bowls and that allows us to give 100 percent of the ticket money
to the local pantry. The church graciously donates the facility. This
is truly a community effort to help those who need the safety net
provided by the pantry.”
In addition to all the food tasting,
there will be a silent auction and door prizes donated by local
merchants and individuals. There are about 20 silent auction items
including paintings by local artists, unique home décor items,
jewelry and one of a kind items donated by local artisans.
Local businesses and individuals
donating auction and door prizes to date are: The Artisan Event,
King’s Antiques and Florist, Stone’s Drug Store, Duncan’s
Drugs, Broadway Flowers & Gifts, Food Giant, The Frosted
Farmhouse, plus 12 local artists. And more items are being donated
every day.
Tickets are available at the Trace
Creek Church office, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., M-F; The Good News
Shoppe, 203 E. South St., M-Sat., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; or the Mayfield
Food Pantry, S. 9th St., Mon.-Thursday, 9 a.m. to noon. For 10 or
more tickets call Heath at 270-705-6062.
Tickets will be available at the door
as long as there are enough bowls to accommodate diners. About 1,000
persons are expected to attend.
The past four years the event has
raised about $50,000 for the Food Pantry, which provides emergency
food supplies for about 350 local needy families each month.
“It is my belief that in this great
county of ours, no one should go hungry,” Heath noted. “And if
someone has a need, then we as a community have a responsibility to
help in any way we can. I urge you to mark your calendars and come
have lunch with us that day. If you attend once, I just know you will
be back the next year.”
“We are so thankful for this great
fund-raiser that has provided needed money for the Food Pantry to
keep assisting local residents,” said Food Pantry Director Jackie
Herndon. “We encourage everyone to come out and support this event
and have a great time for a great cause, helping our neighbors in
need.”
The Empty Bowls project is an
international effort started some 20 years ago to help alleviate
hunger and raise awareness of the issues of hunger around the world.