To the editor:

The recent “Empty Bowl” event was a great collaboration between Whidbey Island Nourishes (WIN) and  the South Whidbey High School Ceramics Department.  Students from Dan Monnet and Gene Koffkin’s first year ceramics class helped raise funds as well as awareness about hunger in the community.

Dan brought the idea to WIN in the fall and the students were thrilled to make bowls to sell filled with homemade soup and bread. Local chef Kris Phillips and Jonni Reed made incredible soup and John Peterson, from Molly’s Island Organics, supplied the wood oven cooked bread.

Students, parents and others supporters from the community were able to get a great bowl of soup before the high school band concert that evening. It was fun to see the proud students walk through and point out their work to their friends and explain the project.

We even had hungry musicians coming out after the concert enjoying the soup and telling us how good it was! The event raised awareness of how the students can help their peers as well as enjoy the nutritious food that WIN is known for.

Their efforts brought in $748; enough to cover two children’s year long enrollment in WIN or provide over 200 individual meals! WIN wants to thank those generous students and the art teachers, Dan and Gene, for making this happen and being so supportive of our first collaboration with the high school.

It was truly a WIN / WIN situation.

Mary Fisher

WIN president