Newburgh Free Academy hosted their 17^th annual Empty Bowls event in April. Empty Bowls is a national network of volunteer efforts to provide hunger relief.  All proceeds go to the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley, the main food supplier to local food pantries and soup kitchens. This year, the event welcomed nearly 200 people and raised $5,400 for the local food bank.

Ceramics teacher, Mr. Joshua Lipira and his students made approximately 200 one-of-a-kind ceramic bowls.  The gracious ladies of the cafeteria made several delicious homemade soups, and Mr. Jim Morrison and his Culinary Academy students baked up trays of their tempting brownies.  All other parts of the meal and door prizes are donated by area businesses.  

Students, faculty, staff, and retirees, families, and community members filled the space at Newburgh Free Academy, Main Campus to participate in the annual Empty Bowls event.

Each attendee received a hand band bowl and enjoyed soup, salad, cookies, and ice cream. Soup flavors included: Lentil, spinach ravioli, stuffed pepper, chicken, corn chowder, gluten free chicken, all made by Ms. Nancy Mitchell. Ms. Mitchell has been making the soups for this event for the last five years. 

Students volunteered to help serve and facilitate the event.

The event is estimated to be about 17 years strong, originally started in 2002 by now retired teachers, Mrs. Sandy Corsetti and Mrs. Mary Elin Korchinsky Carnes.

Organizers of the event were: Mr. Joshua Lipira, Ms. Pilar Treus, Ms. Becky O’Herron, Mrs. Diane Visconti, and Ms. Maria Lastowski.

Board of Education President Ms. Carole Mineo and Board of Education member Mr. Mark Levinstein were on hand to celebrate the event.

Photos from the event can be found here.