For the past 18 years, the Kiwanis Club of Seward has hosted the Empty Bowls Soup Luncheon. The event is held in October at the Seward County Fairgrounds. Vendors from the Seward County area serve delicious donated soups, rolls, and desserts. Each ticket holder will also receives a hand-crafted pottery bowl of their choice, made and donated by Down Under Pottery. The pottery bowl symbolizes a child’s empty bowl and serves as a reminder of all the backpacks which need to be filled with food and food vouchers for children in the Seward community.
There are many school-aged children in the Seward School District who are living below poverty level. These children rely on school lunches and are faced with a food shortage every weekend. The Seward Backpack Program has been providing food assistance to children in the Seward area for over 16 years. During that time our Backpack Program has seen more than a 40% increase in students being served. The Kiwanis Club of Seward provides 65 local students with weekend meals and provides food vouchers during the holidays.
The cost of $275.00 per student covers 34 weeks of weekend meals for one child. This challenges our Kiwanis club to raise nearly $20,000 during this year’s soup luncheon to cover the cost of this great program. The Seward Backpack Program receives 100% of the proceeds.
