The Lititz Empty Bowls event recently raised almost $13,000 to help fight hunger in the community, with the proceeds going to the Lititz Warwick Community Chest Food Bank. Around 350 area residents attended the Nov. 6 dinner held at Rock Lititz, sampling soups, breads and desserts prepared and donated by local restaurants.

Participants ate from bowls that were created and donated by local artists and students, and attendees took home their bowls at the end of the event. They also bid on silent auction items donated by local businesses and residents and listened to live music.

St. Paul Lutheran Church in Lititz first hosted the event in 2017, raising nearly $25,000 for local groups that fight hunger over three years, before the event went on hiatus for two years during the pandemic. The event is part of an international grassroots effort called the Empty Bowls Project, begun in 1990 as an art class project at a Michigan high school.