Empty Bowls brim with charity
As Chris Tzorin ladled spicy tortilla soup into bowls at a fundraiser Oct. 23 to benefit Orange County residents struggling with homelessness, hunger and poverty, he stressed the importance of serving those in need.
Tzorin, executive chef at Tortilla Republic in Laguna Beach, spooned out gallons of soup that his restaurant had donated to South County Outreach’s second annual fundraiser. The nonprofit’s event, Empty Bowls, drew more than 230 guests at El Niguel Country Club in Laguna Niguel.
“It’s not about being a chef today,” said Tzorin, who has been featured on the Food Network shows “Cutthroat Kitchen” and “Guy’s Grocery Games.” “It’s about giving back.”
For South County Outreach, an Irvine-based organization that assists more than 9,000 South Orange County residents a year through a transitional housing program, food pantry, computer learning lab and thrift store, Empty Bowls is about more than raising money.
“This organization helps really good people who’ve just had bad turns, bad luck,” said Lara Fisher, executive director of South County Outreach.
Fisher shared the story of the evening’s guest speaker, a client who was unable to find work after having been laid off from his job last Christmas. The married father of four and his family lost their home, so they moved to a rental. Two years later, they were evicted when they could no longer afford the rent.
The family of six then shared one bedroom and two beds in a hotel.
Since returning to the South County Outreach Transitional Housing Program, the parents have been able to get back to work, and the father is currently studying for the bar exam.
“This is somebody with a lot of skills but [who] lost a business, and in this affluent community, we forget what happens to them,” Fisher said.
Since 1994, South County Outreach’s housing program has operated 16 condominiums that can house 37 adults and 66 children. The average stays are six to nine months.
The 25-year-old nonprofit collects almost 1 million pounds of food every year to feed the 1,000 residents who visit the food pantry each month. It says 45% of the clients are children.
The Empty Bowls fundraiser, now in its second year, is part of an international effort to fight hunger.
An art teacher initiated the Empty Bowls project in 1990 to raise charitable funds in his Michigan community. The event relies not only on restaurant and corporate sponsors but on volunteers to serve soup — and, locally, on donations of hundreds of ceramic bowls created by Orange County students and artisans.
Environmental artist Robert Wyland created a signature bowl depicting an octopus for the event’s silent auction. Local schools, including Mission Viejo High, Los Alamitos High, Tesoro High and Capistrano Valley High, designed bowls for each place setting that could be taken home as reminders to feed the hungry.
“The students worked really hard,” said Brian Schultz, a ceramics teacher at Capistrano Valley High. Schultz asked his advanced students to each donate 20 bowls and write about how to fight hunger.
“This is the opportunity to use handmade ceramics to raise funds for hunger,” he said. “It’s phenomenal.”
Mission Viejo High School junior Sawyer Genoway spoke about being part of the cause.
“It’s a cool opportunity to team up with South County Outreach to give people food who have nothing,” Sawyer said.
Bonnie Baller, an officer with for the Laguna Woods Ceramic Slipcasting Club, joined fellow members in making and decorating bowls with bright pink and yellow crystals for the fundraiser.
“I have a dream to feed every hungry child, and if it has to be one by one, I’ll take that opportunity,” Baller said.
At the Oct. 23 event, tortilla, vegetable, minestrone and roasted acorn squash were among the 14 soups served up by restaurant donors, including Prego Ristorante in Irvine, L’Hirondelle in San Juan Capistrano, Sonny’s Pizza and Pasta in San Clemente and Villa Roma in Laguna Hills. More than 50 items were donated by area businesses and individuals, including golf packages, wine tastings and an Angels jersey signed by Jered Weaver.
Larry Mount, a board member at South County Outreach, said 90% of the organization’s total income of $3 million goes to hunger, homelessness and transitional housing projects and 10% to overhead.
“This a very important night for us, and you are making a meaningful impact,” Mount said to guests before they queued for a serving of a humble but rich soup. “We’re already looking forward to next year.”