Fifth and Elm Coffee House in Houghton to host Empty Bowls event Sept. 5

By Michele Bourdieu

Outside the Kangas Café on Aug. 7, 2012, Beth Anderson, left, administrative assistant, and Sherry Rivard, regional coordinator, for BHK Great Explorations offer hand-made bowls for donations to support the Empty Bowls Project. The Kangas Café, located in the Jutila Center in Hancock, participated in the project by serving soup for a day to those who bought a $10 bowl, made by local potters and decorated by adults and children in the Calumet Art Center. The proceeds from the bowl sales help fight hunger by supporting local food pantries. On Sept. 5, 2012, the Fifth and Elm Coffee House in Houghton will be the fourth Empty Bowls business supporter to serve the soup for a day. (Photos by Keweenaw Now)

HOUGHTON -- Join the Calumet Art Center and BHK Great Explorations at the Houghton Fifth and Elm Coffee House for the fourth Empty Bowls event from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 5.

Dolores Kangas, owner of Kangas Café and Catering in Hancock, donated soup and bread for a whole day on Aug. 7 to support the Empty Bowls Project. She set up a room near the café for serving and kept it open later after the café closed. "I believe when you're successful at business you should pass it on," Kangas said.

For a $10 donation select a bowl made by local potters and enjoy a meal of soup and bread at the Fifth and Elm Coffee House located at 326 Shelden Ave., Houghton.
100 percent of the proceeds will be donated to local organizations fighting hunger in our communities: CLK Food Pantry, St. Vincent DePaul (Hancock and L’Anse) and the Community Action Food Pantry.

By afternoon on Aug. 7, during the Empty Bowls event at Kangas Café in Hancock, Beth Anderson, administrative assistant for BHK Explorations, said they had collected more than $550 already just that day, selling more than half of the 100 bowls they exhibited for sale.

"There are so many beautiful bowls," Anderson noted. "The hardest part is for people to choose a bowl."

On Aug. 7, Sherry Rivard, regional coordinator for BHK Great Explorations, serves a hearty potato-and-bacon soup and bread to Emma Mackey, 13; Cullen Mackey, 10, and their Mom, Donna Mackey, at the Kangas Café in the Jutila Center in Hancock.

Through BHK Great Explorations, children from third through eighth grade have participated in the project by decorating the bowls. In addition, adults can drop in at the Calumet Art Center and decorate a bowl.

Since April, groups and individuals -- including children accompanied by an adult -- have been coming to the Calumet Art Center to decorate the bowls. Local restaurants and cafés have been invited to serve soup to customers who donate $10 for one of the decorated bowls. The café/restaurant serves the soup in one of their own bowls and the customer takes home the decorated bowl.

In Calumet, the Café Rosetta and the Michigan House each donated soup and bread for a day to support the Empty Bowls Project earlier this summer.

The Empty Bowls Project, an international effort to fight hunger, is a community based fundraiser designed to create awareness of food insecurity and to generate income for local food pantries.

Editor's Note: See our April 30, 2012, article, "Empty Bowls Project to fight hunger kicks off at Calumet Art Center" and visit www.calumetartcenter.com for details on the project.