More than 350 members of the Lompoc and surrounding communities turned out to get a bowl of hot soup and support the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County at the annual Foodbank of Santa Barbara County Empty Bowls Fundraiser.

Between ticket sales, sponsorships, raffle ticket sales, silent auction, and succulent-plant sales, the Foodbank met its goal of $50,000, said Anna Boren, the Foodbank’s donor services supervisor.

Erika Culwell, who has served as the event’s committee chair for the past four years, said she was overwhelmed by the response.

“We couldn’t have the event in 2020 and 2021, and it actually gave me anxiety because I was like, where is the money going to come from to help feed our people?,” Culwell said. “We were able to do this again in 2022. Today, I am so relieved that our community continues to come out and support it year after year.”

Guests, who lined up early to attend one of the event’s two seating times, were able to select from a variety of one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted bowls, many of which were glazed by the art students at Lompoc Valley Middle School.

Lompoc residents also made bowls at bowl painting parties hosted by the Foodbank.

Each guest takes their bowl home as a reminder of Empty Bowls’ purpose – to provide food for neighbors facing food insecurity.
 
Those attending selected from 11 gourmet soups ladled out by chefs from various restaurants and kitchens between Lompoc and Santa Ynez. Among the soups on offer were clam chowder, tomato bisque, steak and potato, split pea, and minestrone.

Participating restaurants included Alfie’s Fish and Chips, American Host, Glaze’s BBQ, Lompoc Valley Medical Center, Mi Amore, Old Town Kitchen & Bar, Santa Ynez Valley Community Outreach, Tom’s Burgers, and Wild West Pizza.

All proceeds from the event go to support the Lompoc community by providing fresh produce and nutrition education to Lompoc residents facing food insecurity.

The next Empty Bowls fundraiser will take place Oct. 18 in Santa Maria.

In 2022, the Foodbank distributed 1,036,076 pounds of food to 18,569 unduplicated individuals within the Lompoc community, through 20 programs by nonprofit and faith-based partners, in addition to Foodbank’s direct-to-client programs.

The Foodbank is grateful to the following sponsors of the 2023 Lompoc Empty Bowls: Baroda Farms, Gul, Imerys, CoastHills Community Foundation, Maureen Tolson, Mechanics Bank, ExxonMobil, CenCal Health, Allan Hancock College, RARE Electric, Starbuck-Lind Mortuary, Wealth Enhancement Group, Santa Barbara Foundation, the Holdsambeck Family, Engen Enterprises, Village Veterinary Clinic, and James Raggio.
 
The Foodbank Lompoc Empty Bowls Committee included: chairperson Erika Culwell, Pam Gnekow, Denise Laliberte, Alice Laufer, Julie Menicucci, Leslie Sherrill, Yvette Cope, Kirsten Chipps, Michele Hunt, Ann Card, Patricia French, Amy McCounnaughey, Ann Ladwig, Sarah Gunter, Eileen Geraci, and Cristina Ortega.

For more, visit FoodbankSBC.org or call 805-967-5741 ext. 306.