“METUCHEN EMPTY BOWLS”
Local Artist Come Together to Help Feed Those in Need
A group of artists are joining together to create an art event that will feed the soul and, literally, feed the body too.
Artists from Lore Ceramics, Earthsongs Studio, Basecamp Studio & Gallery, Rising Heart Studio and Friends of Metuchen Arts, will hold a “Metuchen Empty Bowls” fundraiser to benefit the First Presbyterian Church Community Food Pantry on Saturday, October 10, 2026 between 1:00 and 4:00 p.m. in the Church’s social hall located at 270 Woodbridge Avenue in Metuchen.
The event will feature the church’s famous soup meal complete with salad, bread and desert, plus each attendee will receive a handmade ceramic bowl created especially for the event by local ceramic artists. There will be live music and an art fair with opportunity to purchase addition art to help the cause.
Organizer Robert Diken of Basecamp Studio & Gallery, a ceramic artist himself, explains:
“Empty Bowls is a grassroots movement where artists raise money for hunger-relief charities. The simple concept is: potters make bowls, restaurants donate soup, and the community shows up. As a ceramic artist, I jumped at the chance to give back through my practice, partnering with fellow artists and studios who share that spirit. For the Metuchen Empty Bowls Project, the First Presbyterian Food Pantry supplies the soup — making them both a partner and the recipient of every dollar raised.”
All proceeds from the Empty Bowl dinner go directly to the FPC Food Pantry. Tickets to The Empty Bowl Project are $50, children under age 16 are free.
“The goal of the FPC Food Pantry is to make sure no one in our area ever goes to bed hungry,” said FPC Food Pantry Director Sarah Teti. “Achieving this would not be possible without the financial partnership of members of the community and the hard work of our dedicated volunteers who come from every corner of the community.”