Empty Bowls Frequently Asked Questions By Restaurants

Empty Bowls is a fundraising event for The Food Bank of Manatee, a PLUS program of Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee. It will be held from 11am-1pm on Main Street in Lakewood Ranch on Friday, November 3, 2023. Tickets are $35 for general admission and $50 for VIP admission. Guests will select a hand-painted bowl to keep, sample 3 soups (sample cups will be given at registration) and select one full bowl for their lunch. Additional sample cups and bowl refills will be available for purchase. Dining tables will be set up to allow guests to enjoy their soup.

Please arrive with hot soup at 10:00 am to be ready for service by 10:30 am. Upon arriving, check in with our Restaurant Coordinator.

Based on previous years, we expect 400+ guests to attend the luncheon; therefore, each participating restaurant has agreed to provide 5 gallons of hot soup.

It is best to bring the hot soup in the large pot(s) from which you will serve. There is NO cooking facility on site to heat your soup.  Please bring your soup hot and ready to serve. 

We will supply sternos and two bricks to act as risers at each soup station.

• 5 gallons of hot soup
• One large serving pot
• At least one serving ladle
• One server. Supplying your own server gives you the opportunity to talk with existing or prospective customers. If you have no one to serve your soup, we will supply a volunteer to serve. (If unable to attend, please label your pot and ladle clearly.)

Event coordinators pursue exposure opportunities with all local media, including ABC-7, Bay News 9, Bradenton Herald, Herald-Tribune, iHeartMedia,  Suncoast Living Magazine, and East County Observer. Media are also invited to cover the event. Restaurants are listed on the event webpage, in e-mail marketing, in print advertisements (as space allows), and tagged on social media posts.