TERRE HAUTE —
It was a different kind of soup line Saturday night, as feet tapped to the sound of fiddles, and hands held bowls of gumbo.
The second annual Soup Bowl Benefit packed the participants into Maryland Community Church, with more than 370 ticket-holders carrying hand-crafted bowls full of soup and bread.
The event was a community-sponsored fundraiser for the Terre Haute Catholic Charities Foodbank at which artists throughout the Wabash Valley donated hand-crafted bowls for purchase, and restaurants provided the soup to fill them.
Sister Mary Montgomery of the Sisters of Providence said the turnout was bigger than expected.
“It’s a sellout. It’s definitely a sellout,” she said excitedly while the Coon Holler Kids fiddled away on stage. “We are just thrilled.”
Organized by a committee from local organizations, the event’s inaugural bash survived last year’s ice storm, drawing more than $11,700 to the gymnasium of St. Patrick’s School despite frozen roads. Montgomery said more than $16,500 had already been raised Friday for this year’s event hosted by Maryland Community Church.
Artists ranging from students to professional potters donated 369 bowls for the project. For a $25 donation, participants got a bowl and all the soup they could eat, Montgomery explained. Twenty soups were donated by restaurants, caterers and individuals, in addition to bread and desserts. A $6 ticket bought a bottomless bowl of soup, but that bowl was plastic, not ceramic, she said.
Meanwhile, musical guests volunteered their time, including Brent McPike, the Coon Holler Kids, Jack Shannon and the Yearbook Committee, and Pete Lannoo on cello.
Terre Haute Catholic Charities Foodbank serves Clay, Greene, Knox, Parke, Sullivan, Vermillion and Vigo counties. According to the group, about 46,000 individuals, or one in six residents of the service area, are currently “food insecure,” meaning they have difficulty meeting basic food needs.
Of the foodbank’s clients, 73 percent have household incomes at or below federal poverty, which in 2010 was $1,526 per month for a household of three people.
Meanwhile, the event gave local artists a chance to shine, and Mabel Morris said novices are welcome.
Morris teaches pottery at the Torner Center in Deming Park, and said the program is “one of Terre Haute’s best kept secrets. And that’s something we’re hoping to change.”
In addition to regular adult classes, the parks department also offers programs for children. Recently the group hosted a class specifically designed to provide donations for the Soup Bowl.
“We had a community day where anyone could come in and try their hand at making a bowl,” she said, noting that a one-day class generated 57 bowls, in addition to 12 she made herself.
Judy Ohmit produced 21 bowls for the project. A professional potter of more than 12 years, Ohmit teaches at her studio in Rockville, as well in Veedersburg and the Covered Bridge Art Gallery. The chance to help feed the hungry is a big draw, she said, as is partaking in the soup herself.
“It’s a toss-up between the gumbo and the Italian Wedding Soup. Fabulous. And the brown bread is fantastic,” she said.
News
Related Photos
-
Full house: The Soup Bowl Benefit at Maryland Community Church Saturday evening resulted in a sold out audience.
Discussion
‘Soup Bowl’ raises funds for hungry through pottery sales
- News
-
-
Rockville correctional facility program teaches life skills
It’s hard to know who benefits the most: the inmates or the dogs.
-
AAA mag recognizes city for arts works
The nonprofit organization that uses outdoor sculpture to draw attention to Terre Haute is getting some notice of its own.
-
State pushing for convenience stores to make safety a higher priority
In 2002, after New Mexico forced convenience store owners to put sweeping security measures into place for clerks working late-night hours, the number of robberies dropped by 92 percent. Assaults, murders and other crimes at convenience stores also dropped dramatically.
Now Indiana officials are hoping voluntary compliance with similar safety standards will bring about similar results.
-
Patriotism & Honor
From his vantage point, Sonner Faught could see almost every volunteer in the cemetery.
-
Graduation turns to mourning in Clinton
Jeana Lunsford’s graduation from South Vermillion High School Saturday should have been a time of celebration.
-
School choice proponents foresee growth of vouchers
Twenty-seven Vigo County students benefited from tax-supported vouchers during the first year of the Choice Scholarship Program, and that number is expected to grow for 2012-13, say Indiana school choice leaders who visited Terre Haute Thursday.
-
Tales of obstruction meet first takeover attempts
A decade after Indiana legislators gave the state the power to take over chronically failing schools, the first implementation of the law is meeting with resistance, skepticism and questions about its costs.
-
MIKE LUNSFORD: Raising a flag for my father, veteran or not
My daughter, Ellen, and I stood at my parents’ graves on Mother’s Day a few weeks back and talked about how it couldn’t possibly have been so long since we lost them. My dad, for instance, has been gone for 16 years, and that is nearly unimaginable
-
3 rescued from burning residence
Quick action on the part of some first-responders is credited with saving the lives of three people in a Vermillion County fire early Saturday morning, according to the Vermillion County Sheriff’s Department.
-
He never forgot a name: Friends remember victim of fire at Garfield Towers
When Freddie Poore met you, he never forgot you.
-
Hometown boy embraces ‘Promise I Made’: Clinton native Ken Kercheval takes role in Dreams Come True production
Thanks to some help from a hometown boy in Hollywood, “This Promise I Made” is still on track to be kept in Clinton.
-
STATE OF THE STATEHOUSE: Many say they don’t vote in primary because of tag that comes with it
A couple of columns ago, I posed a question about why most Indiana polling places on primary election day had so few customers.
-
Police looking for convenience store robber
Police are seeking a robbery suspect following a Saturday morning armed robbery at the Jiffy MiniMart at 25th Street and Eighth Avenue.
-
Graduation ‘responsibility’: Rose-Hulman stages 134th commencement exercises
Inventor Dean Kamen gave a first-hand demonstration Saturday of how to be an innovator.
-
THE OFF SEASON: To the seniors, one last lecture before you go …
It dawned on me one day last week, as I sat at my desk in my teacher clothes and shoes, a stack of ungraded essays calling to me from a rather tall and depressing pile, that I hadn’t missed a high school graduation in 33 years.
-
HOT MEMORIAL DAY weekend ahead for workers, campers, garage salers
The Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial kickoff of summer, and this weekend is expected to be a scorcher with consecutive days of temperatures in the low to mid-90s.
-
Water rescuers
Emergency personnel wheel a man who was removed from a vehicle that had been driven into the water at Crystal Lake on Boston Avenue near 14th Street at about 9 p.m. Friday.
-
For many, camping outdoors is the way to beat the heat, enjoy nature
Stringing up fishing poles in the shade of American flags, households full of Hoosiers are packing into parks across the state this weekend.
-
Towns along National Road readying for next week’s miles-long yard sale
Stretching 824 miles from Baltimore to St. Louis, the National Road — known as U.S. 40 through Indiana — will soon be the host site for perhaps the longest bargain market in the country.
-
Rose grads honoring late president Branam at commencement today
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s Class of 2012 will honor the memory of Matt Branam during today’s commencement ceremony by wearing special pins with the phrase “Make It Happen; Make It Fun,” a favorite saying of the former Rose-Hulman president, who died unexpectedly on April 20.
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 26, 2012
The following individuals were booked into the Vigo County Jail by area law enforcement on Thursday and Friday, based on jail records. Charges are recommended by arresting officers but are not final until the Vigo County prosecutor reviews the case and files official charges.
-
Quiz King
Matt Aselage doesn’t usually watch TV game shows, but he is certainly up-to-date on current events.
-
A fallen soldier returns home
An Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Spc. Arronn D. Fields early Thursday morning at Dover Air Force Base, Del.
-
Official touts trade with northern neighbor
A top Canadian diplomat told a Terre Haute audience Thursday his country was “disappointed” when President Obama at least temporarily rejected a proposed transcontinental oil pipeline from Alberta to Texas.
-
Caution urged for summer’s kickoff
Lane restrictions in construction zones on Interstate 70 and other highways around the state will be lifted to accommodate holiday travel for the Memorial Day Weekend.
-
Letters delivered
Several positions will be eliminated this summer at the Terre Haute mail processing facility as the U.S. Postal Service begins moving the operation to Indianapolis, a U.S. Postal Service spokesman has confirmed.
-
Companies seek Vigo tax abatements
Two Vigo County companies are seeking tax abatements for expansion projects, one of which is included as part of a county incentive package.
-
High-speed chase suspect caught in West Virginia
The suspect in a cross-country, high-speed chase originating in Terre Haute last week was reportedly in federal custody Thursday evening.
-
Second victim of deadly I-70 semi-trailer crash identified
The Vigo County Coroner’s Office has identified the passenger of a semi-tractor crash on May 16 in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 near the 12-mile marker.
-
Brazil remembers a Fallen Son
A small town seemed sadly quiet Wednesday, waiting to honor a local fallen warrior.
- More News Headlines
-
Man Falls Off Crane, Dies After Police Standoff
Witness Describes Fla. Face-chewing Attack
Raw Video: Cop Shoots Man Eating Another's Face
Man in Crane at Texas College Says He's Armed
Unexpected Smog in Pristine National Parks
Obama Honors Fallen Troops at Arlington Cemetery
Raw Video: Deadly Explosion at Minn. Paper Mill
Dairy Farm Uses Chiropractor to Help Cows
Romney Promises World's Strongest Military
Russia Condemns Ally Syria Over Massacre of 108
Air Canada Plane Makes Emergency Landing
Raw Video: Earthquake Shakes Evacuees in Italy
Obama Pays Tribute to Vietnam Veterans
Beryl Knocks Out Power in Florida
Raw Video: 19 Dead in Qatar Shopping Mall Fire
15 Dead in Northern Italy's 5.8-magnitude Quake
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Raw Video: Memorial Day Aboard Intrepid
New Ticks Spread Across Southeast, Diseases Rise
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast
Hamster Plays Dead
Beyonce Shows Off 60 Pound Weight Loss at Concert
Drunk Women Breaking Into Houses: A New Trend?
LeAnn Rimes Rocks Short Shorts
Gordon Ramsay Carried Off Field
Man Dies Getting Lap Dance
Kim Kardashian Claims Items Stolen from Her Luggage
Bear cools off in Calif. family's pool
Ep. 3: Chopped Desserts
Air Force dad surprises family at baseball game
Justin Bieber Wanted for Questioning for L.A. Scuffle
J.Lo and Marc's Friendly Reunion
Jet makes emergency landing after debris falls off
Cynthia Nixon Ties the Knot
Woman, 80, Falls Out of Skydive Harness Mid-Jump
Keira Reveals Engagement Ring
Dog runs alonside cyclists for 1,100 miles
