The 5Cities Homeless Coalition served lunch to hundreds of people Wednesday at its 8th annual Empty Bowls Community Luncheon.
The charitable event provided a meal of soup made by local chefs paired with fresh baked bread and served in handmade ceramic bowls.
Restaurants provided 5-10 gallons of soup each and the bowls were made by local artists.
Luncheon tickets were $25 each.
Janna Nichols, 5Cities Homeless Coalition Executive Director, says the money raised at the event will help the organization provide services to homeless families.
"For us, it's really important that we are able to address the spectrum of homelessness that we have, and there are unique challenges for each," Nichols said. "We recognize the challenges of the business community in having homeless on the street and at the same time, if we don't have shelter and we don't have housing, there are limits to what we can actually do."
Last year, the coalition raised more than $44,000 during the Empty Bowls event and they hope to match or exceed that amount this year.
