Empty Bowls of Owensboro, Kentucky has selected New Life Church as this year’s recipient of the event’s funds. The annual fundraiser, which is part of a national initiative to feed the hungry, will take place Thursday, April 28 at 6 pm in the Saints Joseph and Paul Catholic Church Community Center, located at 609 East 4th Street.
The Empty Bowls Committee accepted applications from area soup kitchens and food pantries but chose New Life Church to receive the funds because of the diversity and reach of their program.
Their food cooperative is a membership program that provides families with a monthly food box. The group meets twice a week and receives up to 50 lbs. of food at each meeting. Not only do they receive food, but the meetings allow them to be become educated on their physical, mental, spiritual and emotional health. The program currently serves 30 families in the local community and they provide 600-800 boxes of food each year.
In addition to the cooperative, they also have community meals for those in need on Tuesday and Thursday. They also support a local non-profit called “A Simple Path,” that teaches homeless women the culinary art and trains them for jobs to help stabilize their lives. These women are residents at Adrienne’s House, the city’s only walk in emergency shelter for women.
With the immense dependability on their kitchen for each of these programs, the church is seeking funds to service and maintain their appliances to ensure the kitchen stays in working order. They currently rely on donations that are used solely to purchase supplies for the ministries.
“We are so thankful to the Empty Bowls committee for selecting New Life Church as the recipient of this year’s award. We plan on using the funds in a variety of ways. Along with supporting our food pantry, soup kitchen, and food co-op this will free up funds to replace and repair appliances in the kitchen. It is our goal to live out Matthew 25:40 with each arm of ministry here at New Life.”
In addition to their ministry to feed the hungry, New Life Church, located on Crabtree Avenue, seeks to meet the physical and spiritual needs of the community through ministries such as a Thrift Store, Clothes Closet, and Adrienne’s House.
The funds provided to New Life Church will come from proceeds garnered by the Empty Bowls event, including tickets sales, t-shirt sales and silent auction donations. Tickets for the event are still on sale and any remaining tickets will be available for purchase at the door. Tickets are $15 and are available at the following locations:
Allstate Insurance Company Dave Lindow
1210 Burlew Blvd.
Owensboro, KY
Monday-Thursday, 8:30 AM-5:00 PM
Contact: Tina Taylor
Next Level Church
2613 Cravens Avenue
Owensboro, KY
Contact Amanda Graham at [email protected] for hours
Saints Joseph and Paul Catholic Church
609 East 4th Street
Owensboro, KY
Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM-4:00 PM
Your ticket allows you to select a ceramic bowl from hundreds of handcrafted bowls made especially for this event by local artisans and students of Brescia University. Brescia’s Art Department supplies the clay, glaze, and location for the bowls to be created. Each participant at the event will then use their selected bowl to receive one of four soups made available by local chefs and churches.