EMPTY BOWLS: A signature fundraiser

The Empty Bowls fundraiser for Kennett Area Community Service, this year held on Feb. 22, has become a fixture on the winter calendar for lots of folks. The event is so popular that they hold both a luncheon and a dinner on the same day.
At the luncheon, the packed Red Clay Room was abuzz with conversations among friends and networking chats among business acquaintances. I stopped by the Kennett Library table and got to catch up with new library director Megan Walters, Jeff and Carol Yetter (Jeff serves on the board of both KACS and the library), Milly Caez (technical services and development assistant), Filomena Elliott (adult literacy program director) and Lupe Ruiz (literacy program assistant). I spotted Tom Swett, who heads the library's board of trustees, but didn't get a chance to chat him; he was busy working the room as only he can.
The emcee had an awful time trying to get people to quiet down so he could start the program. Finally, when the softer-spoken Barbara Larsen, president of the KACS Board of Directors, took the microphone, guests belatedly realized that something was going on and settled down. She explained the significance of the handmade bowls that guests got to take home: she said she hoped they would remind us that hunger does exist even in the midst of our prosperous area.Pastor Doug Stirling offered up a prayer, we ate a simple lunch (soup, a salad, a roll and cookies), and then executive director Melanie Weiler gave a talk about the KACS programs. She explained how the Kennett Square area's popularity has led to gentrification and soaring housing costs, which pinches families who live on moderate or fixed incomes. Some families they see are paying 50% to 70% of their income for housing, she said. Homelessness in our area has increased drastically, so much so that for a period of time KACS had a waiting list for its services. Food insecurity, she said, is a symptom of this underlying problem.
Melanie showed a video about the KACS Christmas basket program and, without missing a beat, demonstrated that she has the flexibility needed for a social services professional: the laptop wasn't connecting to the speakers, so she simply held the live microphone next to the computer. Worked perfectly.