WE NEED VOLUNTEERS! - The Open Door Food Pantry's Empty Bowl Event

The Open Door Food Pantry located in Gloucester and Ipswich is hosting it's biggest fundraiser of the year next week: Empty Bowl. This event helps fund Summer Meals for Kids, where last year we served 17,000 kids without financial aid from the government.

Requests for assistance continue to rise in our community. In 2025, requests for food assistance jumped 36%, on top of a 30% increase in 2024 and an additional 30% increase in 2023. In 2025, programs of The Open Door provided 12,780 people with 2.48 million pounds of food (2.06 million meals) during more than 136 thousand visits. Our neighbors need us now more than ever.

Empty Bowl is Thursday, May 7th  at Cruiseport in Gloucester from 4-7pm. We are in desperate need of volunteers! If you or your family are able to help, specifically the second half of the event and cleanup (7-9pm, the most needed!!!!), please register here: https://foodpantry.volunteerhub.com/vv2/

This link will take you to VH to create a profile and then you will be able to see ALL of the Empty Bowl opportunities.

Sometimes people like to volunteer for the second shift (5:15-7:00pm) AND for Clean-up. That is totally fine, but not necessary.

The event itself is always so fun, and is pay-what-you-can if you want to attend as a patron. Every ticket comes with a handmade or painted bowl from community partners, soup, bread, and a cookie. If you are interested in attending the event, you can find tickets here: https://foodpantry.org/our-story/empty-bowl-tickets/

The Open Door is organized to serve people who live in 11 cities and towns in the northeast corner of Essex County, MA. Gloucester, Rockport, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Essex, Ipswich, Rowley, Topsfield, Boxford, Hamilton, Wenham and Georgetown. Mobile sites in Danvers and Lynn.

Thank you for considering, and please share with your networks! <33