A Community Effort to Support the Little Pantries of Henry County

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The Little Pantries of Henry County organization hosts a series of events as part of an Empty Bowls fundraising project each year.

The centerpiece of the Empty Bowls fundraiser is a series of soup dinners held at various participating churches during the month of September.  The event is hosted in memory of Bill Neese, a founding supporter of Little Pantries of Henry County.  Attendees can purchase a soup dinner and a souvenir bowl that they can keep as a reminder that there are neighbors in our community whose bowls are empty.  

In preparation for the soup dinners, the Little Pantries of Henry County sponsors an annual Throw-A-Thon during the summer at the Paris Academy for the Arts.  During this event, local potters throw handmade pottery bowls, which are donated to the Little Pantries organization to be used as souvenir bowls for the soup dinners.  Additionally, local churches host painting parties during the summer.  At these parties, community members are invited to decorate additional pre-made bisque-fired bowls, which are fired to make them food safe (as well as microwave and dishwasher safe) and used for the Empty Bowls soup dinner events.