Empty Bowls is now annually organized by the Social Work Organization, specifically the junior class, as a way of connecting to the greater community. This class has also partnered with alumnus Brandon Knott to make the famous bowls. Due to COVID-19, the students of Defiance College have not been able to give back to the community as much as they have in the past. In 2020, The Empty Bowls event was not able to be held due to the restrictions placed on Ohio during the pandemic. Students typically are seen doing all of the facilitation of Empty Bowls, such as marketing and advertising, running the event, and gathering donations. Aside from social work students, a large sum of non-social work students and staff give their time to voluntarily assist with event needs. As a whole, Defiance College’s goal is to give back to the PATH Center and raise funds and awareness towards their yearly budget for nutritional needs. 

The PATH center serves the surrounding six county area. Monday through Friday a hot meal is available to those in need. Currently, the PATH center has even begun delivering meals to those who are not able to access take out. The PATH center has a kitchen budget of $1,500 annually and rely solely on donations after that. In 2019, Empty Bowls Donation of $7,000 significantly helped feeding our local community members with food insecurities. It is estimated that the current kitchen budget only allows for 21 cents per day per meal. The Social Work students find this to be unacceptable for the neighbors of our community.  

Defiance College’s mission is To Know, To Understand, To Lead, and To Serve. Defiance College is strongly connected to service for others and leading onward into tomorrow. Defiance College has been working towards building this event for twenty years. This year, 2021, will be the twenty-first year that we will be hosting the empty bowls event. In the last year, COVID has impacted all of us one way or another. People, in Defiance county, have lost their jobs and their homes in the past year. Through the pandemic, the PATH Center has stood strong trying to stay afloat to provide for those families who need our help. There has never been a better time for us to give to those in need. There has never been a time where giving has been more necessary. Thank you for helping us make a difference in our community and in the lives of those who have been impacted so significantly by this ongoing pandemic.