UAB Campus Dining and the Collat School of Business joined Magic City Harvest in its fight to end hunger last Friday, April 28 at the 14th Annual Empty Bowls Soup and Bread Lunch. More than 350 attendees convened at the St. Vincent’s Hospital Bruno Conference Center for hot soup, hand-crafted bowls, a silent auction, music, door prizes and a chance to support the agency, which raised more than $11,000 through for food recovery efforts through the event.

Magic City Harvest (MCH) helps end hunger by recovering 1.2 million pounds of excess food from restaurants and grocery stores each year, and works with 30 agencies to distribute more than 700,000 nutritious meals to people across Central Alabama.

For a $15 ticket donation, Empty Bowls guests enjoyed a lunch spread of tuscan minestrone with chicken or tomato basil soup, cheese, bread and cookies, as well as select one of 800 hand-painted/hand-crafted bowls to take home. The bowls – created or painted by local schools and organizations – served as a thank you and reminder of how many empty bowls MCH fills each day through the program.

UAB Campus Dining Resident District Manager Rich Yokeley and UAB Collat School of Business Dean Eric Jack, Ph.D., presented a $3,000 check on behalf of the University to aid MCH in its mission. The donation comes from a percentage of proceeds from UAB Dining’s Zime Bistro (which is located in the Collat School of Business).

“Magic City Harvest works solely on donations, and it’s our belief that no good food should go to waste,” said Yokeley, who also serves on the MCH board. “Two out of 10 people in Alabama live below poverty level, and more than 80,000 deal with food insecurity. 4,500 men and women are fed every day through Magic City Harvest. So the more you support, the more we can make an impact.”

The fundraiser also featured a silent auction where attendees could bid on items ranging from art and pottery, to spa packages and jewelry. Lunch was provided by A Social Affair/Oscar’s at the Museum.

Since 1995, Magic City Harvest has been recovering excess food to help combat hunger and eradicate food waste across Jefferson, Shelby, and Talladega counties. The agency coordinates daily food pick-up from schools, hospitals and restaurants with a primary focus on recovering and redistributing perishables. UAB Campus Dining also partners with MCH to donate perishable food items from various dining locations on campus on a weekly basis. Magic City Harvest also works to:

• Educate the community on understanding how poverty directly impacts food insecurity.
• Provide education and advocacy regarding the impact food insecurity on nutrition and obesity.
• Create and/or support collaborative partnerships focused on these issues.
• Warehouse non-perishable dry goods that can be redistributed to shelters and feeding agencies.

For details on how to volunteer, donate, become a food donor or food recipient agency and more, visit MagicCityHarvest.org.