Please join us to fill empty bowls with hope for the Durham community by attending the 7th Annual Empty Bowls to Benefit Urban Ministries of Durham. Empty Bowls is the signature event for the downtown non-profit agency that provides emergency food, clothing and shelter to our neighbors in need and helps those who are homeless secure a home.

Join us on Thursday, March 7, to sample soups prepared by more than a dozen local restaurants and vote for their favorites, a light dinner that reminds us all how many people in Durham do not have enough to eat.

Local artists and artisans will donate hundreds of hand-crafted bowls, and guests who choose to make an additional donation will select one to take one home. The evening will be accompanied by a live jazz ensemble and a short program about the important work Urban Ministries of Durham does to feed, clothe and shelter our neighbors. And join us afterward at Fullsteam,726 Rigsbee Ave., which will donate a portion of sales to UMD.

Participating restaurants

• 604 at West Village
• Bleu Olive Bistro
• Bull City Burger and Brewery
• Durham Convention Center
• Mad Hatter's Café and Bakeshop
• Mediterranean Deli, Bakery, and Catering
• Papa Mojo's Roadhouse
• Piedmont Restaurant
• Pizzeria Toro
• Saladelia Café
• Six Plates Wine Bar
• The Pit (coming soon to Durham)
• Thrills from the Grill
• Toast
• UMD Community Café
• Watts Grocery

Presenting Sponsor: Olive & Olive, PA

Gold sponsors: Durham Convention Center, RTI International, United Therapeutics

Silver sponsors: AICPA, WTVD, ABC-11; McKinney; Maxwell, Freeman & Bowman, The Forest at Duke, Brooke Jenkins

Bronze sponsors: Senn Dunn Insurance, Carpe Diem Cleaning, Piedmont Investment Advisors, Golden Corral, Diversified Information Technologies, West Village, Alliance Architecture, North Carolina Central University