On April 17th, Edison students and staff volunteered at the 4th annual Empty Bowls NE raising awareness of world hunger. This year, they almost doubled the amount they raised from last year. Edison's students, staff, and community artist made and donated bowls to Empty Bowls NE which was open to all ages. Both the *Star/Tribune and KSTP TV covered this story.  Students worked hard to create and glaze bowls to donate, growing vegetables/garnishes for a soup recipe, and cooking soup for the event. 

Edison's art teachers, Krista Marino and Rachel Hoemke were in charge of the Empty Bowls NE fundraiser which supports the homeless in the NE neighborhood.  They raised a total of $8,336.00! Five hundred and thirty-six dollars was raised with a pottery lottery, and will go to the art department at Edison. The $7,800 raised with the soup fundraiser will be split among the Sheridan Story, which provides a weekend’s supply of food to kids eligible for the free or reduced-priced lunches at school; Helping Hand Food Pantry, which serves low-income and homeless residents in the 55418 and 55413 ZIP codes, and the East Side Neighborhood Services Food Programs, which run three food shelves, including one specifically for Hennepin County seniors.  

*Note: the Star/Tribune misstated the location of the Aquaponics/hydroponic set-up as being in the basement of a southside restaurant. The lab is located on-site at Edison and is part of  Edison's new agriculture program  through a partnership with Spark-Y. Click on the link to learn more about this program. 

 

How it worked: you come and select a handmade ceramic bowl, donate what you can, and eat a meal of soup provided by local restaurants, or our Edison students. After you finish your meal, you take home your ceramic bowl as a reminder of the problem of hunger right here in our community.  All proceeds went to local food shelves and food programs.  

Next year marks the 5th anniversary of this event and we look forward to joining the community in raising world hunger awareness.