Offering a simple meal of bread and soup for the hungry
In 2024, Hinesburg may see many firsts but absolutely one worth mentioning and making note of is the first “Empty Bowls” event held at the CVU High School Cafe on Jan. 18. The CVU Empty Bowls dinner was organized by and is the brainchild of Teryn Hytten, a CVU high school junior and event organizer. The dinner is meant to symbolize the original Empty Bowls Movement (started by several Michigan high school students in the 1990s) to bring awareness to the deleterious effects of growing community hunger.
ACCESS CVU Program Director Laura Howard put it this way about Teryn: “Teryn was raised on UVM Empty Bowls dinners starting as a baby, and she and her family attended every year.” This is how and when Teryn learned the power of the Empty Bowls dinners.
In fact, two forces converged to give birth to the event.
First, UVM ended their annual Empty Bowls dinner and second, Teryn’s deeply rooted desire to continue the giving tradition. In many respects, for Teryn, not attending an annual Empty Bowls dinner was tantamount, philosophically, to missing out on the opportunity to help the hungry – that she had become indoctrinated to help.
Teryn jumped into action and approached Laura about starting an event at CVU. Under Laura’s expertise and mentorship, Teryn and others were able to make the event happen. But it was Teryn’s spark and vision and the drive to altruism that started the process. And thanks to the combined efforts of Teryn, Laura, and Emily Mitchell (ACCESS CVU Pottery Program Instructor), there will be fewer hungry people in Hinesburg.
The CVU dinner raised donations for the Hinesburg Food Shelf (Hinesburg Community Resource Center) through $20 donations (ticket price), a silent auction, and individual contributions. Attendees were also asked to bring a canned food item. Donations are used to purchase food and personal hygiene items for Hinesburg residents in need. Many community sponsors were also involved in providing support. A complete list can be found at the ACCESS CVU website. This first CVU Empty Bowls dinner drew over 300 participants, which was the maximum allowed for the event.
The mission goals of the event are twofold: to bring
needed awareness of food insecurity in Hinesburg, and to raise donations. It is estimated that in Vermont, 57,150 face hunger daily, among 12,040 children, and a recent study by UVM found that two in five in Vermont are food insecure. Food insecurity can happen to anybody at any time depending on life events. It’s also no surprise that recent inflationary trends have exacerbated the problem, greatly raising food prices over the past year. Food is now a major monthly expense that some simply cannot afford. The average Vermonter spends over $500 per month on food, but one real concern is whether that amount of money is satisfying a nutrient-healthy diet.
The Empty Bowls Movement is rich in symbolism offering a “simple meal of bread and soup” for the hungry, and the use of ceramic bowls as a simple yet effective utensil dating back thousands of years. Using handcrafted ceramic bowls is a key component of the dinner which brought together 30 area artisans. The bowls reflect every once of love and sweat that went into making them. Every ticket holder is offered the opportunity to select a bowl. Each bowl reflects the creativity and skill of the artisan, but all reflect “the use of ceramic arts to fight against hunger.” The bowls can stay in the families for generations and as a reminder of the presence of hunger in society. Once the concept of the dinner was founded, calls went out to 30 area pottery artisans to join the ACCESS CVU program resources to create over 300 new bowls. This effort was spearheaded by ACCESS CVU pottery instructor Emily Mitchell. ACCESS CVU donated all the materials and pottery program equipment.
The Empty Bowls dinner offered homemade bread from the CVU Cafe, homemade soups and ice cream. Homemade soups like potato corn chowder, butternut squash and meatball wedding; and freshly baked bread by the CVU Cafe staff like sesame wheat and light rye; and farmmade ice cream by Sisters of Anarchy like chocolate anarchy, rounded out the dinner.
Once again the organizer of this truly original event for Hinesburg Vermont, unbelievably, is high school junior Teryn Hytten. Aside from earning High Honors in academics, Ms. Hytten has distinguished herself and her team, and her school, by working tirelessly to put together this well-organized event that was both well-attended, fun and successful. Ms. Hytten’s accomplishments teaches us all that unselfish volunteerism is not only truly appreciated but in this case truly needed. Well Done! And this first event raised in excess of $5,000 in donations!Teryn is currently a junior at CVU and she tells me she will continue the event next year, and I’m sure it will again exceed expectations. When asked what she thought her greatest accomplishment was of this years’ event she stated “it’s all about giving back and honoring great traditions that help humanity and community.” Yup, that sums it up quite nicely.