Holy Guacamole! Waste Not Brings A Spicy Twist to Empty Bowls

Ireland Fleck
2 minutes ago
3 min read

What do you get when you blend art, creativity and some tacos? A whole lot of heart and passion to give back.

Waste Not and the local nonprofit, Arizona Clay Association, hosted its most beloved and long-running fundraiser: Empty Bowls. Empty Bowls is part of an international grassroots movement that unites hundreds of ceramic artists across the country to craft and donate their one-of-a-kind ceramic bowls, raising money to combat food insecurity in their local communities.

The Arizona Clay Association (AZ Clay) is the creative force behind Empty Bowls, bringing it to life in Arizona every year. AZ Clay is a local art nonprofit dedicated to uniting the clay community and showcasing the incredible ceramic talent from all over the state. For the past 35 years, AZ Clay’s board members, partners and artists have come together to create hundreds of unique, handmade bowls in support of Waste Not. Each bowl sold helps advance Waste Not’s initiative of showing how reducing food waste can play a meaningful role in combating food insecurity across Arizona.

This year, Waste Not and the Arizona Clay Association aimed to make it bigger and better than ever. On October 18 – 19, Empty Bowls was a weekend-long fiesta at Salt River Fields during Taco Fest. People from far and wide, even visitors from Canada and Washington, stopped by to buy their bowls and learn more about AZ Clay and Waste Not.

By the end of the weekend, over 200 bowls were sold, raising $3,392! Who knew that tacos and art would make the perfect pairing?

Hosting an event like Empty Bowls requires a large team of volunteers and a considerable amount of time. So, what does it really take to bring an event like this to life?

Empty Bowls 2025 by the Numbers:

400 pounds of clay donated by local artists
20 different potters
80 hours of creation
45 hours of glazing
40 glaze combinations
600 hours of kiln firing
200 miles of driving for bowl pickup/drop off
16 hours of volunteering supporting Empty Bowls
2,160 hours before starting up for the next year's event

But more powerful than the final number is what every bowl represents: a tangible reminder of the collective power we have to support and nourish one another. For David Bradley, a longtime member of the Arizona Clay Association, he explains this best:

“The bowl represents each person who goes without enough food to eat. And too many bowls are empty,” explains Henry. “When a person purchases a bowl from the Empty Bowl event and takes it home and uses it, it becomes a symbol for that need that needs to be filled.”

Through the generosity of the community, all proceeds go towards serving approximately 16,960 meals to those in the community.

“Empty Bowls is Waste Not's chief awareness and fundraising event,” shared Tonia Smith, the Development Manager at Waste Not. “The support and connections that we generate connected to this event are critical to helping grow our efforts in ending hunger. We are grateful for the individuals and businesses who have partnered with Waste Not to promote food rescue in Arizona.”

Thank you to all those who came and helped us fill bowls of hope. As the need for food grows, especially during the holiday season, your support is more critical than ever.