Marsh, Golden to lend hand helping Phoenix, Talent food pantries and the free Phoenix Community meal
By Holly Dillemuth, Ashland.news
State Sen. Jeff Gordan and State Rep. Pam Marsh will both serve as celebrity servers at the annual Phoenix-Talent Empty Bowls fundraiser this Sunday.
More than 325 bowls handcrafted by local clay artists in cooperation with Talent Maker City will be available at the annual Phoenix-Talent Empty Bowls fundraiser from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 9. The fundraiser, months in the making, will be held at First Phoenix Presbyterian Church, 121 W. Second St., in Phoenix. Five local eateries will each offer soups served up by celebrity servers, including Phoenix City Councilor Susan Chester.
Talent Mayor Darby Ayers-Flood will serve as one of the cashiers for the event, and Phoenix Mayor Al Muelhoefer will serve as a greeter.
The following soups will be served at the Empty Bowls fundraiser on Sunday:
- Carrot (Alchemy, Ashland)
- Red Velvet Mushroom (Chef Tony, former owner of The Grotto in Talent)
- Potato Leek (Arbor House, Talent)
- Chicken Vegetable (El Comal, Phoenix)
- Beef Minestrone (First Phoenix Community Kitchen, Phoenix)
- Tomato basil bisque (Gather Cafe & Bistro, Talent)
- Vegetable pesto (Chef Jill)
Cheryl Lashley, co-chair of Jackson County Empty Bowls, has spent months working on planning the event.
Attendees can pick out one or more bowls (one ticket per bowl), Lashley said, and then each bowl is filled with tasty soup and they are given hot, homemade bread.
“They’re all just really wonderful and it’s all donated,” Lashley said.
All proceeds will benefit the Phoenix and Talent food banks.
Last year, the fundraiser raised $2,800. This year, the hope is to raise even more.
Each food bank feeds 100 or more individuals each week, with the free Phoenix Community Meal served monthly to about 130 families as of late summer, according to Lashley, with numbers potentially higher as the federal government shutdown reaches the longest duration in history.
Lashley praised the monthly Phoenix community meal in particular and shared that the community aspect is as important as the meal it provides.
“The community dinner provides an event where folks can connect and get to know their neighbors,” Lashley said.
“They sit down and it’s like a restaurant and they’re served,” Lashley added.
As word gets around about Empty Bowls, Lashley anticipates it will grow more and more.
“We also have a silent auction that are all ceramics,” Lashley said.
This year, she opted to include a sponsorship option this year for businesses and individuals.
“I went to a lot of local businesses here for $150 sponsorship,” Lashley said. “My goal was $1,000 and I got to $1,200 like that.”
Hungry?
What: Talent Food Pantry
When: 4-5 p.m., Mondays
Where: 104 E. Main St., Talent
What: 1st Phoenix Community Center
When: 8 a.m. – Noon Saturday (Donation dropoff)
Where: 121 W. Second St., in Phoenix
What: Phoenix Community Meal
When: Thursday, Nov. 13 (Held monthly)
Where: 121 W. Second St., in Phoenix
Among the sponsors for the clay are Ray’s Food Place, Talent Club, Talent Food Pantry director Tammy Wilder, Medford-based Cherry Street Meats, and C3 Enterprise.
Talent Maker City hosted multiple “throw-down” bowl-making events for experienced Clayfolk potters and hand-builders throughout later summer and early fall to make the bowls.
Instead of placing the clay on a wheel, artisans take a slab of clay and either hand form it or use a dome mold to craft the bowl, according to Lashley. At one of the bowl-making sessions, 114 bowls were made in an hour, Lashley said.
Bowls were glazed at Talent Maker City and Northwest Ceramics Studio. Lashley said in late summer that Southern Oregon University planned to bisque-fire the bowls. Clay was donated by Rogue Valley Pottery Supply and Peace House.
Talent Maker City has become a significant partner in Empty Bowls, not only for hosting bowl-making, but as a way for Empty Bowls to receive tax-deductible donations as Empty Bowls is not a nonprofit.
“It’s all just donations,” Lashley said. “Partnering with Talent Maker City, all of the donations can go through them and then they take care of the tax receipts.”
Of the bowls made overall this fall, 180 were delivered to Peace House for their Empty Bowl fundraiser in Ashland held Oct. 24.
Lashley said Peace House has been holding an Empty Bowls fundraiser for the past two decades, mostly using bowls from SOU students and other local artisans.
“Three years ago, when I came on, we started doing that collection for them,” Lashley said.
Bowls at the Phoenix-Talent fundraiser are $15 or $20 per bowl, with homemade bread also served. Cash or checks will be accepted at the door. For more information, contact Lashley at 541-326-8494.
Reach Ashland.news reporter Holly Dillemuth at [email protected].
