AN EMPTY BOWLS STORY

Ten Januarys ago, I was invited to participate in the first Empty Bowls event, a soup dinner hosted at Nicollet Square through the Kingfield Neighborhood Association. Here’s how the initial event was described -
“We are collecting handmade bowls and inviting the community to join us for a soup dinner. For a suggested donation... community members can eat soup, and take the bowl home as a reminder of our many neighbors that are in need of food and shelter. All proceeds from this event will benefit Nicollet Square, which is a partnership between Plymouth Church Neighborhood Foundation, YouthLink, and HIRED. Nicollet Square provides affordable housing and a supportive environment for young adults (ages 16 – 21) who have experienced homelessness or been in the foster care system. We believe that by helping youth in our community find stable housing and employment, we address the root causes of hunger.”
The letter acknowledged that as a business we cared about both “food and community” and the connections made between them. What the organizers hadn’t known at the time was that I had just begun conversations with Plymouth Church Neighborhood Foundation (now known as Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative) to discuss a potential move to Nicollet Square’s corner retail site that had remained empty since the opening in 2010.
They did perhaps remember that I had been a vocal advocate during the Nicollet Square design and construction process, countering concerns being raised by some neighborhood residents about the “who” whom might be living in the building. My years of alternative school teaching across the metro area gave me a conviction that “those kids” (as objectors would label) weren’t always the outsiders residents imagined them to be. Yes, even in Kingfield and Lyndale, youth within the foster care system and those who could and did experience homelessness for short or longer times were present and living among them already.
Events like Empty Bowls – meant to generate community connections, lift up food insecurity issues, and call on neighbors to step out of their comfort zone for an evening – are just one tool in building community. The ongoing work of introducing Nicollet Square’s residents to our neighborhood through mentoring and volunteer connections would become other tools. And the partnership that would grow between Butter Bakery Cafe and Nicollet Square to provide a supportive internship program and worksite became my calling. This January we welcomed our 52nd intern, and at the same time celebrated hiring our 13th intern as a member of the staff of Butter Bakery Cafe.
That first Empty Bowls event in 2012 started me on this journey, much like a good soup course sets the stage for lovely feast. That night, as I brought some of our own bakery bread, and entered Nicollet Square for the first time, I passed the empty corner retail space in a new way. Then in March of 2012, when I ventured inside the grey box which would become my cafe’s next home, I already could imagine what a delight it would be to make soup for the 2013 Empty Bowls in that new kitchen with help from residents who lived in this very building, and how that event might grow to include even more ways in which food insecurity and root causes of hunger are addressed.
Hundreds of gallons of lentil brown rice soup later, this year Empty Bowls returns to the Nicollet Square building, with pandemic impacts removing the option to return to the Martin Luther King Park Building. So, on Sunday, Feb. 13, Butter Bakery Cafe will host Empty Bowls from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. A creative use of our patio and sidewalk, as well as take out and limited indoor dining for those who can show a vaccination card or negative antigen test, will likely make this a one-of-a-kind event.
This is, as always, a community-supported event. Soup is being provided by several local restaurants and community kitchens including SIMPLS Soups, Clancy’s Meats, and Butter Bakery Cafe. We’re also thankful for treat donations from the kitchens of The Lowbrow, Open Arms MN and Metro Meals on Wheels. We’ll have bread donations from Sun Street Bread and Royal Grounds Cafe. Finally, a big shout out also goes to neighbors Lori Olson, Aliva Kistler, Alex Kern and Brenda Johnson and other many volunteers for their talents and efforts to produce and promote the event!
Please plan to attend this 10th year event, enjoy a lovely soup meal, and share your support for Nicollet Square!