Soup bowls filled at Arroyo Grande fundraiser

The fifth annual Empty Bowls Community Luncheon was held Thursday at St. Patrick’s Church in Arroyo Grande to benefit the 5 Cities Homeless Coalition.

Attendees picked their choice of more than 600 handcrafted bowls and then filled them with soup provided by a variety of local restaurants.

Two dozen “VIPs” — including representatives from local media, elected officials, police and fire chiefs, members of the clergy, and city and county administrators — were on hand to serve the soup.

Restaurants who donated soup included CJ’s Cafe, Coco’s, DePalo & Sons, Fin’s Seafood Restaurant, Honeymoon Cafe, Jaffa Cafe, Lido, New Life Kitchen, Oceano Elks Club, Penny’s All American Cafe, Splash Cafe, The Spoon Trade and Spyglass Inn Restaurant, according to a news release. House of Bread baked bread for the event.

The bowls were made by a variety of professional artists, Central Coast Wood Turners, Allan Hancock College students and faculty, Arroyo Grande High School students and others. Altrusa International of Cinco Ciudades and students from Oceano Elementary and Lopez High School also decorated more than 100 bowls specifically for the event.

This story was originally published September 23, 2016 at 4:12 AM with the headline "Soup bowls filled at Arroyo Grande fundraiser."