BAY VILLAGE, Ohio — For several years, Bay Village potter Susan Chakerian has shaped, glazed and donated her handmade bowls to Empty Bowls by the Lake, the westshore fundraiser that turns a simple meal of soup and bread into money for local food banks. This year, her work will sit on the tables alongside bowls made by someone close to home: her daughter River, a senior at Bay High School whose art class is also donating pottery to the event.
Empty Bowls by the Lake returns from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, in the commons at Avon Lake High School, 175 Avon Belden Road in Avon Lake, according to West Life News. Attendees make a donation and receive unlimited soup and bread — and, with a $25 general admission donation, a handmade pottery bowl to take home as a reminder of the hunger the event works to relieve.
The cause is personal for Chakerian, who owns Muddy Lotus Pottery in Bay Village. “I experienced some financial insecurity when I was growing up. And I know what that does to a family. And nobody in our area should experience food insecurity,” Chakerian told West Life News.
Chakerian began exploring ceramics at BAYarts in Bay Village, developing her skills during the COVID-19 pandemic before opening her own studio, West Life News reported. Through Muddy Lotus Pottery she creates functional pieces — coffee mugs, noodle bowls and serving platters — and for Empty Bowls she selects pieces that can hold the event’s soup-and-bread meal, along with larger works organizers can place in raffle baskets or the silent auction. Her pottery favors blues and natural colors, with patterns inspired by fabric-printing techniques, according to West Life News.
River’s participation came as a welcome surprise, Chakerian told West Life News, when her daughter shared that the Bay High School art class would also be donating bowls. River’s creativity extends beyond ceramics: she also serves as head of props and head of paint for the school’s theater department, West Life News reported.
“The proceeds of the fundraiser go to support local food banks and local families who are experiencing food insecurity,” Chakerian told West Life News. “And as a potter, it’s so easy for me to donate some work and have that go to such a good cause.”
Empty Bowls by the Lake is the local chapter of an international grassroots effort that enlists potters, students, educators, restaurants and volunteers in the fight against hunger. Since its first event in 2012, the local fundraiser has donated more than $198,000, according to West Life News. Organizer Laura Kirchner anticipates about 500 donated bowls this year and expects roughly the same number of attendees, and she hopes the Nov. 7 event will raise $30,000, West Life News reported.
The need those dollars answer is visible across the region. NewsForce247 has reported that demand is surging at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank as the holidays approach, and that Cleveland Clinic has expanded its own hunger-relief efforts — a backdrop that makes community fundraisers like Empty Bowls a working part of the local safety net rather than a symbolic one.
This year’s menu is part of the draw: 29 soups from participating restaurants, with bread donated by Panera Bread in Westlake, according to West Life News. First-time soup contributors include Westsiders and Sibling Revelry Kitchen, both in Rocky River, and Goody’s Family Restaurant in Brook Park. Entertainment will include the Avon High School Electric Orchestra, a returning favorite, and local musician Johnny Martens, and a silent auction and raffle will offer additional ways to give.
Admission details are set to keep the event within reach of families: children ages 6 to 12 may participate for $5, children 5 and younger attend free, and children’s admission includes soup and bread but not a pottery bowl, West Life News reported. The event accepts cash donations at the door.
All proceeds benefit Second Harvest Food Bank, Avon/Avon Lake Community Resource Services, Commodore Cupboard and other local food pantries, according to West Life News, which noted that every dollar donated to Second Harvest Food Bank can provide five meals. Kirchner told West Life News the fundraiser runs on a wide volunteer network — about 60 people helping organize and run the event, in addition to the students and restaurants contributing bowls and food.
“It’s a win-win,” Kirchner told West Life News. “It’s really an opportunity, whether you’re donating, buying something at the silent auction or just coming and making your donation and taking home a bowl. Or, if you’re one of the kids making the bowls, or a restaurant donating soup, every one of them is a good deed, and it’s for such a good purpose.”
What happens next is the event itself: doors open at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7, at Avon Lake High School, and the bowls — including the first made by a mother and daughter working the same cause from two generations — will be filled until 2 p.m. More information, including volunteer and donation opportunities, is available at EmptyBowlsByTheLake.org.