GSW’s Empty Bowls 12th annual event set for Nov. 8, helping to eliminate hunger locally

AMERICUS, Ga. (Oct. 29, 2025) — Faculty and students in the Department of Visual Arts at Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW), along with Harvest of Hope and local restaurants, are coming together for the 12^th annual Empty Bowls event to help local families by selling hand-crafted ceramic bowls and soup on Saturday, Nov. 8 from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. This year, there will be additional ceramic art for sale to support the work of Harvest of Hope.

The event is sponsored by the GSW Department of Visual Art’s ceramics program and Artists United, the department’s student organization. Empty Bowls will be held at the Harvest of Hope Food Pantry at 606 McGarrah St., Americus, GA 31709.

This year, there will be 200 bowls available at $25 each. Each bowl requires time and skill to create, from forming on the wheel and drying, bisque firing and glazing, and then a final firing at 2,350 degrees.

Harvest of Hope was founded in 2013 under the guidance of Sonny and Ginger Pinckard and is now under the direction of Chris and Rhonda Slocumb. Slocumb, an associate professor in the GSW School of Nursing, confirmed that “Harvest of Hope provides 600+ boxes of food each month. This means 600+ households in need of food are reached through Harvest of Hope every month. This food is vital to the wellbeing of so many in our community and does so much to fight against food insecurity in our region.” 

“Being a part of Empty Bowls the last three years has been a wonderful experience in so many ways,” stated senior ceramics major Lexi Glass of Albany, Ga. “Not only does it allow me to further develop my craftsmanship in ceramics, but it also gives me the opportunity to use these skills to give back and learn more about the great things the community does to care for one another while attending GSW.”

Most of the proceeds collected from this event will benefit Harvest of Hope; the remainder will go to support GSW visual art students.

This year, participating local restaurants include Pat’s Place, Little Brothers Bistro and Cafe, and Sweet Georgia Bakery. With the purchase of a ceramic bowl, participants will receive a soup voucher (while supplies last) that can be redeemed at one of these local restaurants.

Bowls available this year are made by GSW students Noah Miller, Alexis Glass, Dulce Sarmiento, Marion Mims, Ben Dracup, Leah Ross, Shila Tucker, Anna Jones, Jayda Hughes, Ethan Sellers, Professor Emeritus Ralph Harvey and Professor Keaton Wynn.