Center Line ceramics, nutrition students fill ‘Empty Bowls’

CENTER LINE — The smell of chicken noodle soup simmering on the stove — along with fresh rolls baking in the oven — led the way to Room J103 at Center Line High School Feb. 28.

For the third straight year, students in Jennifer Haugh’s nutrition classes and Shelly Keeran’s ceramics course raised money for Gleaners Community Food Bank through a fundraiser known as “Empty Bowls.”

During lunchtime, Haugh’s classroom transformed into a cafe. Staff members were invited in for a hearty bowl of soup and bread roll for $5. Anyone who paid $10 took home a ceramic piece one of Keeran’s students made. Employees could also purchase or bid on artwork in a silent auction. 

Haugh’s nutrition students spent one week preparing the chicken and broth, chopping carrots and celery, and adding just the right amount of spices and noodles. Keeran’s students began making their collections several weeks ago. 

“Her ceramic students made some beautiful artwork, and my students made the soup from scratch,” Haugh said. “The first year we made $500 for Gleaners and last year we made $800.”

“We’re doing something we love and giving it away for a good cause,” Keeran said. 

The event keeps growing because this year’s Empty Bowls raised $925. 

Based in Detroit, Gleaners serves Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston and Monroe counties by partnering with soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters and schools to provide meals to families in need. 

Seniors Floyd Drinkhorn and Zachary Siegel served the soup, and senior Samantha Lepine helped pass out rolls. Siegel, also a ceramics student, displayed a piece he made of a bird at a planter. The art student used a technique known as coil to shape his work. The idea came to him when looking through art books in Keeran’s class.

“I saw someone using coil to make it better,” he said. “It inspired me to do something different.”

Koi fish inspired senior Samiha Syeda to create a ceramic pond that can store keys and jewelry or be used as a small plate. She’s happy with the way her project turned out and also likes the Empty Bowls idea.

“It combines two types of creativity: culinary and the arts,” Syeda said. 

Junior Brittany Potts started with a flat piece of clay and glaze to create a star-shaped dish she sold at the event. 

“I placed it in a bowl and let it dry,” Potts said. “I think this is really fun. I think this is a great cause. It’s a fun, new experience for me because I have been loving art for a really long time.”

Using her artistic skills, senior Caitlin Sabornido made a ceramic flower trinket dish. 

“I think the flowers are very cute and it’s fun to make,” she said. “I think this is really nice, especially when it contributes to a good cause.” 

One guest who attended Empty Bowls was Center Line Public Schools Superintendent Joseph Haynes.

“I think it’s wonderful to see our kids working so hard to support a great philanthropy and also sharing their talents,” Haynes said. 

Gleaners has a mobile food program that visits schools once a month, including Center Line High School. The program hit home one afternoon when the Gleaners truck was parked outside Haugh’s classroom. That led to a discussion between the educator and her students about financial struggles that sometimes make it difficult to buy food. 

“That could be your neighbor or one of our families,” Haugh reminded the students.  

Empty Bowls was founded in November 1990 by John Hartom, an art teacher at Lahser High School in Bloomfield Hills. According to the website emptybowls.com, he wanted his students to participate in a local food drive. So, he came up with the idea for them to make ceramic bowls and invite staff in for soup for a donation. The money raised would then be donated to a local food bank.  

Empty Bowls is now known worldwide. Schools from elementary to college level, civic organizations and individuals sponsor their own Empty Bowls events to raise money for local food banks of their choice. 

Call Staff Writer Maria Allard at (586) 498-1045.