NEWS

Annual Empty Bowls fundraiser raises over $2100 for charity

By Brittany Dekorte
Editor

Washtenaw Community College’s annual Empty Bowls fundraiser was held on Nov 15. The fundraiser, which is in its fourth year, raised over $2100.

The fundraiser sells bowls that were handcrafted and donated by the ceramics classes at WCC for $20. The money raised goes to local organizations that help with hunger and food insecurity.

Behind the line of bright colored bowls, hung posters describing the difference between food insecurity and hunger: Food insecurity is the occasional lack of access to enough food for an active and healthy life, while hunger is the chronic lack of access.

And both issues are prevalent at WCC. According to surveys done by Emily Thompson and Jessica Hale, two WCC instructors, 1 in 7 people in Washtenaw County deal with food insecurity, and 30 percent of students and staff have dealt with food insecurity.

Because of this, this year’s event focused more on the campus itself.

“In the past, we’ve given half of the funds to the campus food pantry, half to a community charity,” said Rachel Barsch, the supervisor for student activities at WCC. “This year, half is still going to our pantry, the other half is going to the emergency fund.”

The food pantry on campus is available to students to use twice a semester. Each time they go, they are given two bags of food or toiletries. The emergency fund on campus will pay bills for students in the event of an emergency, such as helping to pay for utilities being shut off, or a new tire for a car if one blows out.