'We have to keep working to help people': Empty Bowls fundraiser returns Sunday

WEST ALLIS, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The finishing touches were put on handmade bowls ready to help in the fight against hunger.

“It helps remind us throughout the year that somebody’s bowl is empty, so we have to keep working to help people," Cream City Clay Owner Colleen Volland said.

Colleen Volland has been a part of the fundraiser since it began, and her studio created about 600 of the 2,000 bowls this year.

“Every dollar means one meal. That’s $30 per bowl or $15 per bowl," she said. "It might be $50,000, $60,000, $70,000. I'm hoping for $70,000. That would be lovely.”

All the money goes to Friedens Food Pantries, giving them the funds to fight hunger.

"We do our best to make sure that there is variety, if not to meet every cultural preference, but at least most dietary preferences, so I think they appreciate just how much effort and love we put into what we're doing," Friedens Food Pantries staff member Cheryl Ousley said.

Local organizations and artists pitch in every year to make the bowls. Potter Diane Evans helped make many at Cream City Clay.

"I feel really strong about feeding people," she said.

"It opens at 12, and there is a line outside the door that goes a block, and when you see that, you say, 'Wow, there are really people who believe in this and want to buy bowls."

This year at West Allis A La Carte, children got to help create bowls for this fundraiser.

"The little ones were like, "Oh, somebody is going to get meals from the bowl I made." It meant something to them," Volland said.

The Empty Bowls Fundraiser opens at Noon on Sunday at the MSOE Kern Center. Each ticket is $30. It will get you a bowl and three sample soups. You can also buy a ticket to try more soup for just $11. For more information, click here.