Tickets are now available for YWCA Peterborough Haliburton’s 20th annual Empty Bowls fundraiser, taking place on Friday, February 23rd at The Venue at 286 George Street North in downtown Peterborough.
As well as being the 20th anniversary of the beloved fundraiser, this year’s event returns to the popular pre-pandemic format of an in-person seated lunch.
“As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of this wonderful event, we are thrilled to be able to return to sharing food together with our community,” says YWCA executive director Kim Dolan in a media release.
All proceeds from the event will support the YWCA’s Nourish food program that provides fresh food at affordable costs to families experiencing hunger in the city and county of Peterborough.
Last year’s event raised $33,104 for the Nourish program, which includes food box deliveries, educational workshops, food preparation skill-building, and community gardening.
The program distributes around 260 food boxes each month to individuals and families around the Peterborough area, and also runs a weekly market at Curve Lake First Nation to bring high-quality produce from local farms to the community at affordable prices.
According to YWCA Peterborough Haliburton, half of all women-led households in the region struggle to put healthy food on the table. As a result, mothers compromise the quality and quantity of food they eat themselves so they can provide their children with as much food as possible.
“Food insecurity is a critical health issue and a core barrier for women experiencing gender-based violence,” Dolan says. “The majority of our food box recipients are single mothers, and we’re so grateful to our partners, sponsors, and everyone who joins us for Empty Bowls to help women feed their families and live their lives with dignity.”
Tickets for the February 23rd event are $75 for an early bird VIP ticket or $60 for a general admission ticket.
Each Empty Bowls ticket includes one lunch meal to enjoy at The Venue along with unique hand-crafted ceramic or wooden bowl donated by local artisans of the Kawartha Potters Guild and Kawartha Woodturners Guild.
Lunch options will be provided by a variety of local restaurants, some returning from past years and some participating for the very first time.
Doors will open at 11:30 a.m. for early bird VIP ticket holders, who will have the best selection of lunch options and bowls, and at 12 p.m. for general admission ticket holders, with lunch continuing until 1:30 p.m.
Empty Bowls is sponsored by Cornerstone Family Dentistry (presenting sponsor), The Venue (location sponsor), kawarthaNOW (media sponsor), and bowl partners the Kawartha Potters Guild and Kawartha Woodturners Guild.
Tickets are available at ywcapeterborough.akaraisin.com/EmptyBowls2024 or by calling the YWCA at 705-743-3526.
Empty Bowls is a grassroots movement by artists and crafts people in cities around the world to care for and feed the hungry in their communities. Annual events support food-related charitable organizations, raising millions of dollars to help end hunger and address food insecurity.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be the media sponsor of the 2024 YWCA Empty Bowls fundraiser.
