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Empty Bowls Fundraiser Aims To Fight Hunger In Our Area

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Thousands of people in the Pittsburgh area go hungry each and every day.

That's why the annual Empty Bowls fundraiser is so important.

Hundreds of handmade ceramic bowls, which are created by local artists, will soon be used for soup.

The 21st annual Empty Bowls fundraiser is set for this Sunday.

"When we sit at home and we fill our plate with food and we're like, 'Oh, my goodness, I'm never going to eat all this.' We don't think about the people that are not going to eat at all," Tamara Kilgore, of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, said.

The event is to raise awareness about hunger and money to stop it.

People come in and select a bowl and then, have a simple meal of soup. All of the soups are donated by local restaurants.

"Giving people a taste, literally of what it means to have just soup and bread for dinner," Just Harvest's Ken Regal said.

Last year, Empty Bowls raised $50,000. The funds were split between the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and Just Harvest - an organization that focuses on hunger and poverty in Allegheny County.

The hope is to raise even more money this year.

"The kinds of stresses that families are under, the kinds of pressure that hunger creates in the community costs us all as citizens, as tax payers, as neighbors," Regal said.

"Right now, we have about a 60 million meal gap and we with our network of agencies supply about 29 million meals, but that still leaves approximately a 30 million meal gap, so we really need people to come out and support," Kilgore said.

The Children's Museum will also be there with activities for the kids.

For more info, visit the Empty Bowls website here.

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