Who We Are

Hub City Empty Bowls is one of Spartanburg County’s most respected and successful grassroots fundraisers. Its purpose is to use the making of pottery bowls as a means to raise money that will help feed local citizens who don’t have enough to eat. Each year, Hub City Empty Bowls raises tens of thousands of dollars that are given to a local charity that is aligned with this purpose. Hub City Empty Bowls is the charitable project of Carolina Clay Artists, a group of local potters, people and artists who make clay creations, such as a bowls, vases, and sculptures.

How We Do It

During the year, Hub City Empty Bowls hosts several “bowl-making sessions” for the public. These sessions are held at local pottery studios, such as Artists Collective | Spartanburg and Wofford College. These session are always free and open to the general public. They are great family affairs. All of the studio time, clay, and professional instruction are donated. These sessions usually last about two hours and produce hundreds of unfinished pottery bowls of every imaginable design, from the primitive efforts of children to the museum-quality work of professional artists. The general public makes “hand-formed” bowls; experienced potters are given the option to use pottery wheels.

The unfinished bowls are left at the studio, where they are eventually glazed and fired by experienced volunteers. The goal is to create about 1,000 bowls each year.

With a fresh stockpile of bowls, Hub City Empty Bowls then hosts the annual Soup Day fundraiser in the fall. On Soup Day, all of the bowls are laid out or public access. Patrons are able to select the bowls of their choice in exchange for a $20 donation per bowl. Many people get several bowls and use them as meaningful gifts. In appreciation of patrons’ support, more than a dozen local restaurants donate gallons of gourmet-quality soup that is served along with bread, tea, live music, and fellowship. The restaurants set up serving stations, and patrons are encouraged to have a simple and thankful meal on this day of giving and celebration. Local musicians provide live music, and a public drum circle has become a regular tradition. Most importantly, this is the time that people enjoy each other’s fellowship and share in the knowledge they are helping feed local citizens in need.

How It All Started

Hub City Empty Bowls started in 2009 when Upstate potter Jim Cullen spearheaded the effort in Spartanburg. Empty Bowls is actually a worldwide phenomenon that is purposely without a central organization. It is a concept that spreads from community to community organically. Hundreds of Empty Bowls projects are held around the world annually, all of them adhering to the basic concept of making pottery bowls to feed local citizens in need. All of the money goes directly to the targeted charity in the local community. Each community’s project is a little different in the details, but they all have the same basic design and purpose. The original Empty Bowl project was started in 1990 by an art teacher in Michigan.

Our Events

Bowl-Making Sessions

Bowl-Making Sessions… are held several times during the year. The general public is invited to hand-make pottery bowls with the assistance of trained volunteers. The unfinished bowls are later glazed and fired by trained potters — made ready for the Soup Day fundraiser. No experience is necessary, and all materials, including instruction by Carolina Clay Artists, are free. These are family-oriented events that promote creativity and community involvement.

Soup Day

On Soup Day… is when hundreds of brilliantly glazed, handcrafted pottery bowls made by local citizens are presented to the community as fundraiser to feed local needy citizens. It is truly an impressive sight! For a nominal donation, Patrons will select a bowl (theirs to keep) and enjoy unlimited gourmet soups, bread, and tea; live music; and the fellowship of like-minded citizens who want to end hunger in Spartanburg. It really is the philanthropic spirit of the day that is most satisfying. All proceeds will go toward TOTAL Ministries, a local charity that helps citizens in financial straits. Regional musicians are also at Soup Day, performing free throughout the day. Your nominal donation will get you a handmade pottery bowl, your fill of soup, live entertainment, and a warm feeling of doing good.

Many people get several bowls and use them as meaningful gifts throughout the year.