On March 6, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., the Princeton Day School ceramics students hosted their annual Empty Bowls event. For $25, members of the PDS community could buy a bowl made by PDS students and enjoy soup from beloved local restaurants. By doing so, they raised money to combat food insecurity in the Central Jersey Area. All proceeds went to organizations such as the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK), Feeding America, and The Chubby’s Project.

Empty Bowls originated in 1990 in Michigan, when a high school art teacher, John Hartom, had his students make ceramic bowls to raise money to combat food insecurity in their community. Since then, high schools all over the world have hosted similar Empty Bowls events to combat hunger. The program has been a part of PDS since 2018, and this event marks the sixth year it has been implemented. 

Ceramics students in fourth grade, eighth grade, and throughout the Upper School put a significant amount of time and effort in making bowls for this event. PDS ceramics teacher Eric Rempe said they “usually allocate about five weeks” of the curriculum to create bowls. Students entirely created some, while faculty painted others. This is often an enjoyable process for the students, and Mr. Rempe says that “the most often mentioned favorite project [of the ceramics students] is Empty Bowls [because] they were able to take the skills that they learned and apply them to make a difference in somebody’s life”.

In total, $6,395 was raised for Empty Bowls this year, over $500 more than any previous year. This money provided 44,001 meals for people in need, raising the grand total over six years to 184,562 meals provided. In future years, that number is sure to grow even more.