At St. Kate's, Empty Bowls fills a need for the poor and hungry | General News | myvillager.com

Jessica Balfour and Megan Pociengel make ceramic bowls in the clay studio at Saint Catherine University as part of the Empty Bowls exhibit and soup social on November 6-12. Photo by Brad Stauffer

“This has turned out to be a very powerful way for students to realize how their creativity can be used for change,” said Professor Monica Rudquist.

Saint Kate’s annual Empty Bowls Project has more than fulfilled its mission. The charitable effort was founded in 2010 by Monica Rudquist, associate professor of ceramics and sculpture at Saint Catherine University. As of 2023, it has led to the creation of more than 5,000 bowls at 100-plus events for students and the surrounding community.

Empty Bowls has also hosted more than 20 soup socials where diners select a bowl, enjoy soup and make a contribution. More than $20,000 has been raised through the project, providing more than 4,000 meals to Open Arms of Minnesota and support for Saint Kate’s Food Access Hub.

In Saint Kate’s Art and Art History Department, “this has turned out to be a very powerful way for students to realize how their creativity can be used for change,” Rudquist said.

In honor of these accomplishments and the contributions of Rudquist, who is stepping down as director of the project, the university will host “Celebrating 14 Years of the Saint Kate’s Empty Bowls Project,” an exhibit of newly crafted bowls and memorabilia from the preceding years of the project.

A.J. Lewis and daughter Jester made ceramic bowls in October in preparation for the Empty Bowls exhibit and soup social in November. Photo by Brad Stauffer

The public exhibit will run from November 6-12 in the second floor gallery of Saint Kate’s Visual Arts Building. It will culminate on Tuesday, November 12, with the annual Soup Social from 11:45 a.m.-1:15 p.m. in the second floor gallery. The public is invited to come, select a handmade bowl, share a meal and make a donation in support of Open Arms and the Food Access Hub.

“I started teaching at Saint Kate’s in 2008. By the winter of 2010 my Clay Club was in full swing,” Rudquist recalled. “The students wanted to do some sort of community project. I had known about the national Empty Bowls Project, and I suggested we try this. We did monthly bowl making events that were open to the community no matter their experience or expertise. The students also researched organizations to figure out who we wanted to help.

“Open Arms of Minnesota provides food for individuals and their families who have debilitating illnesses,” Rudquist said. “It started out helping people during the AIDS epidemic but has grown to include a wide range of illnesses. It follows the charism of the Sisters of Saint Joseph to care for the dear neighbor,” said Rudquist, referring to the founders of Saint Kate’s. “The students really latched on to that.”

In 2021, with food insecurity a growing problem on college campuses, Rudquist and the students added Saint Kate’s Food Access Hub as another charity. A collaboration between the Sisters of Saint Joseph and the university, the Food Access Hub includes a food shelf, a network of community gardens and several sustainability initiatives.

Saint Kate’s sophomore Sara Zafar is serving as Rudquist’s assistant on the Empty Bowls Project this year. A nursing major with a psychology minor who lives in Highland Park, Zafar finds the Empty Bowls Project to be especially important because of the prevalence of poverty and the high cost of food. “And if you’re not able to afford nutritious food, the more likely you are to have health problems,” she said.

Food insecurity is an ongoing problem at colleges in the area, according to Zafar. “Around 40 percent of students at Hamline, Saint Kate’s and Augsburg were believed to be food insecure in 2022,” she said. “One thing that helps at Saint Kate’s is our Food Access Hub. I’ve gone there myself.”

Though Empty Bowls began as a Clay Club activity, “my ceramics classes now facilitate the bowl-making events,” Rudquist said. The project has also been integrated into the Center for Community Work and Learning, a Saint Kate’s program that facilitates learning through related courses, student employment and civic engagement.

“Empty Bowls has provided learning experiences for hundreds of Saint Kate’s students through the Center for Community Work and Learning,” said center director Dr. Sophie Hunt. “Every fall students in Monica Rudquist’s ceramics course lead bowl-making workshops for students in other courses.”

As Rudquist prepares for her final Empty Bowls events and for her retirement from teaching in June, she is gratified that the project is so embedded at Saint Kate’s. “Knowing how well it fits with the mission of the university, I’m confident it will continue,” she said.

Reservations are not required for the November 12 Soup Social. For more information, visit sites.google.com/stkate.edu/stkatesemptybowlsproject/home.

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