End hunger with an empty bowl

That headline is not a Zen riddle but a suggestion for a weekend activity. The El Dorado Peace and Justice Community will host an Empty Bowls dinner this Saturday from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. Empty Bowls was created by a Michigan high-school teacher in 1990. His students created ceramic bowls and served soup and bread in them. In exchange for a monetary donation to the school’s food drive, diners were allowed to keep their bowls. Since its inception, the tradition has spread worldwide. Artists and students are hard at work shaping and painting bowls for Saturday’s meal, which benefits local and international food closets. Vegetarian and meat soups will be served with fresh bread. The suggested donation for dinner is between $15 and $50. Empty Bowls happens at the Hangtown Grange, 2020 Smith Flat Road in Placerville. For more information, call (530) 642-1120 or visit www.edpjc.org.