Feed Fannin’s signature event of the year, Bowls of Hope, drew a capacity crowd in 2018, with $14,300 in ticket sales alone. Well over 500 eager guests crowded into beautiful Willow Creek Falls in Blue Ridge to sample a variety of delicious hot soups and delectable desserts befitting the chilly, damp weather on March 10.
Bowls of Hope raised more than $29,000 in total to support the Fannin County Family Connection Food Pantry. This was thanks to Willow Creek Falls, the generous chefs and restaurants that donated food, and the great individuals and organizations that donated silent auction items and pottery bowls. Also responsible were the talented musicians who provided entertainment, the Feed Fannin volunteers who constructed beautiful living centerpieces for the tables that could be purchased, and the many wonderful people of the surrounding community who purchased tickets and attended the event.
Once inside the building, guests split their time between the all-you-can-eat food and a large silent auction that proved very popular, raising close to $10,000. But the centerpiece of Bowls of Hope and the hub of all that day’s activity was the long narrow table displaying more than 700 bowls hand crafted by local pottery artisans in a rainbow of colors, shapes and textures. Every guest at Bowls of Hope takes home their choice of an empty bowl symbolizing the fight to end hunger. From the time the doors to the event opened at noon, the bowls table was ringed thickly with guests appraising and selecting their favorite bowls. Meanwhile, the band Gopher Broke and other guest musicians serenaded the now warm and satiated crowd that filled every seat available and then some.
“The business community in Blue Ridge is amazingly generous — they rallied to the cause, and this year’s auction was our most successful yet,” said Silent Auction Coordinator Carol Huey. “It’s wonderful to live in such a caring community.”
An army of 100 volunteers – many of them Feed Fannin members and many who work with Family Connection, the Future Farmers of America and other community organizations – helped to carry off the event: working in the kitchen, fetching and serving soups and desserts, running the silent auction, wrapping the take-home bowls, and greeting and guiding guests onto and off the property.
“We are so grateful for the time and energy freely given by these amazing volunteers, which makes it possible for Feed Fannin to accomplish its primary mission of providing food for those in need in our community,” said Feed Fannin Events Chair Carol Martel.
Submitted by Diane Payne