Harvest Fills Empty Bowls

One of the ways in which the esteemed organization helps feed the hungry is by raising money through its annual Empty Bowls Celebrity Auction. Hosted at the Delta Winnipeg on Nov. 10, 2010, the gala featured a gourmet soup dinner, as well as silent and live auctions of celebrity-signed bowls and once-in-a-lifetime experience packages.

This year’s auction was a huge success, raising a whopping $285,000 and beating out last year’s tally of over $234,000. Of the dozens of bowls up for grabs, the bowl that raised the most funds—after a friendly bidding war—was the Winnipeg Jets’ at a whopping $5,000. The bowl was emblazoned with the Jets logo and signed by former players Anders Hedberg, Bobby Hull and Ulf Nilsson.
Another sports figure’s bowl, that of Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo, also scored high at $2,700, while iconic actress Elizabeth Taylor’s bowl auctioned off for $1,600. Other celebrity bowls included those of teen heartthrob Justin Bieber, hockey star Jonathan Toews and Yoko Ono. For more information about Winnipeg Harvest and the Empty Bowls project, visit www.winnipegharvest.org or call 982-FOOD.

Doug Stephen, partner and president of WOW! Hospitality Concepts with Hellen Halliday general manager of The Delta Winnipeg.