Oxford Empty Bowls, a benefit soup luncheon dedicated to hungry people in the Oxford community, will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 10 in the fellowship hall of the Oxford United Methodist Church, located at the corner of Poplar and Church streets.

Empty Bowls was created in 1990 by a Michigan art teacher looking for a creative way for his students to support a local food drive. The idea grew, and in the 22 years since its inception Empty Bowls has grown into an international event, raising millions of dollars worldwide toward hunger relief.

Now in its 10th year locally, Empty Bowls, the literal product of many diverse hands working together to create the event, has raised more than $36,000, providing much-needed funds for the Oxford Community Choice Pantry.

The skilled hands of Professor Dennis Tobin’s Miami University ceramics students, along with those of several Oxford area potters, make and donate the majority of the bowls for the event.

New this year is a partnership with Oxford’s uptown ceramics studio, “You’re Fired!” through which Miami students living in residence halls and some local middle school children will decorate bowls. Talawanda High School art teacher Jim McWilliams and his Ceramics 2 students also are making bowls that will be available at the luncheon.

At Empty Bowls, guests are served soup, bread and desserts made by volunteers from throughout the community and several local churches, including the Oxford Friends Meeting (Quakers), the Oxford United Methodist Church, Faith Lutheran Church, Oxford Bible Fellowship, Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, the Hopedale Unitarian Universalist Community, St. Mary’s Catholic Church and the Oxford Presbyterian Church. Additional valued contributions come from the Miami University Community Federal Credit Union, Oxford Skyline, The Knolls of Oxford and LaRosa’s.

Decorations for the event are created and provided by some of the community’s youngest and oldest hands, with artwork on display from Liz Woedl’s art classes at McGuffey Montessori School; the “After School Art” program at the Oxford Community Arts Center; Amy Pace’s “Saturday Art” program at Miami; “Opening Minds Through Art,” an art program for people created by Like Lokon of the university’s Scripps Gerontology Center; and Hamilton’s Ridgeway Elementary School, which participated in Butler County Recycling and Solid Waster’s “Recycled Sculpture Contest” under the direction of art teacher Terry Toney.

Guests will choose from a collection of beautiful, handmade bowls, which then are filled with their choice of soup and served with homemade bread and beverages. Luncheon guests then keep their bowls to use or display at home and to serve as a reminder that there always are empty bowls in the world.

For more information, call Connie Malone at (513) 330-1273 or Alice Laatsch at (513) 523-6482.