Community members, businesses and local organizations came together for the annual Empty Bowls event in Lompoc that supports the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County.
“Empty Bowls is synonymous with the Foodbank since the early days. Each community has their own Empty Bowls. There is one here in Lompoc, one in Santa Maria and also one in Santa Barbara. It’s just time for the community to come together to support the Foodbank, to acknowledge each other," said Erik Talkin, Foodbank of Santa Barbara County CEO.
People who attended the event enjoyed soup donated by local restaurants and also received a handmade bowl to take home.
Christine Bisson is a nutrition professor at Allan Hancock College and also volunteers at the Foodbank. She was one of the approximately 300 people who came out to the Dick DeWees Community and Senior Center on Wednesday and says focusing on more than just food insecurity is important.
“We focus not just on food insecurity, which is just getting enough food to survive. We focus on nutrition security, which is getting good quality food and nourishing ourselves well o that we can play and grow and work and all the things that need to be done,” Bisson said.
Organizers are hoping to raise at least $50,000 from the event.
The next Empty Bowls fundraiser will be held in Santa Maria on October 16.
