The Naples community is gearing up to participate in the 5th annual Empty Bowls event being held at Cambier Park on Saturday, January 28, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. For a $10 donation, those attending can select a handmade ceramic bowl and sample from at least 38 tasty soups. The event is an annual fund raiser for the Harry Chapin Food Bank.
At least 1,500 bowls made by Collier County students will be available. A minimum of 38 local restaurants will be providing a minimum of 10 gallons of their specialty soup.
The Naples Empty Bowls Event title sponsor is Panera Bread. Additional sponsors include Ace Hardware, Allegra Printing, Bond, Schoeneck and King, City of Naples, Laquana Clay, Master Piece Mixers, Publix, Taylor Rental/Party Plus Naples, Sweetbay, VITAS, and Whole Foods,
Area restaurants committing to providing their specialty soups include Alexander’s, butternut squash; Bayside Bar and Grill, Italian beef and rotini; Bistro 821, white bean and ham; Brio’s, Italian wedding/bread; C.J. on the Bay, Olde Marco chowder; Calistoga, roasted mushroom bisque; Charlie Changs, creamy chicken and corn; Crisper’s, kicken krab chowder/vegetarian vegetable; Daniela’s, goulash; Eagle Creek Country Club, carrot and ginger; Food and Thought, roasted tomato and barley; and Kensington Country Club, seafood chowder..jpeg)
Other restaurants also providing soups include Larry’s Lunchbox, split pea; Lorenzo Walker Vocational School, minestrone; M. Waterfront Café, New England clam chowder; Naples Flatbread, Grandma Rosie’s chicken vegetable; Naples Sailing and Yacht Club, Minnesota wild rice; Palmira Country Club, shrimp pasta fagioli; Panera Bread, broccoli cheddar and Sonoma chicken stew; Patric’s, gorgonzola artichoke bisque; Pelagos Café, black bean; Randy’s, seafood gumbo/shrimp chowder; Ridgeway Bar and Grill, Naples best clam chowder; and Stevie Tomato Sportspage, Windy City chili.
Still other restaurants include Sunburst Cafe’, chili; Sweet Tomatoes, chicken noodle; Tastebuds Custom Catering, Tuscan white bean; The Club at Mediterra, Greek chicken lemon soup; The Dock, baked potato; The Grand, chicken noodle; Tiburon Golf Club, beef barley; Toast, Southwestern chicken and corn; Turtle Club, hearty roasted chicken with orzo; Whole Foods, mushroom barley (non-dairy); Wilderness Country Club, Bahamian conch chowder; Worthington Country Club, herbed camembert and wild mushroom; Wynn’s, tomato basil; and Zookie’s, chicken enchilada.
Local artisans contributing items for the popular silent auction include Myron Gifford, Ruth Hablutzel, Annabelle Johnson, Gabrielle Nappo, Jim Rice, and Joan Shapiro. Entertainment throughout the event will be provided by the Barron Collier High School drum line, Brian Rapasz and the a capella boys choir, Rika, Gabby, Corinna, Livvy, and Ramos Bros.
Co-chairs for this year’s event are Betsy Dawson and Rochelle Moore. Collier County schools participating in making bowls include Avalon Elementary, Barron Collier High School, East Naples Middle School, Golden Gate High School, Gulf Coast High School, Lely High School, and Vineyards Elementary School. Special assistance has been provided by Adam Meistrell & The Extreme Potters Guild, North Collier Junior Women’s Club, Mollie Bauman, Donna Torrance, Michelle Holder, Peggy Garrett, Jayne Sventek, Jan Russell, and Lisa Connors.
The Harry Chapin Food Bank solicits, collects and stores quality food for distribution to families in need through a network of more than 150 local nonprofit agencies in Lee, Collier, Hendry, Charlotte and Glades counties, who provide food to more than 30,000 people monthly. Over 1 million pounds of food are distributed monthly. For every dollar donated, about $6 in food value goes back to the community. In the past fiscal year, The Harry Chapin Food Bank distributed 12.5 million pounds of food and other grocery products; this was a 31% increase over the previous year.
Additional information about the Naples Empty Bowls Event may be obtained by contacting Rochelle Moore at 377-1229, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by visiting the website www.emptybowlsnaples.org.