Hungry for a good cause? Because for the 16th year, the Open Door will be hosting it’s annual Empty Bowl Dinner in Gloucester tonight,  Thursday, May 12.

Over a thousand bowls have been donated throughout the North Shore, made by Gloucester High School clay students, the seniors at the Rose Baker senior center, other local students, and professional potters from the community.

“Since I’ve been here, because I’ve always been involved because I’ve had students interested in making bowls for it,” said GHS pottery teacher Scott Place. “[This year] we’ve fired approximately 50 bowls that had been glazed safely. They’ve already been delivered for the event.”

The original Empty Bowl was started by potters in Michigan 20 years ago. Now communities throughout the country use the same idea.

In Gloucester, the amount of guests have grown profoundly each year. From only 250 people showing up in 2001, it has increased to over 1000 last year.

But there is a deeper meaning to the dinner than buying a bowl to take home and enjoying the soup with your friends.

“People give a donation and pick out a bowl to take home as a reminder that there are people whose bowls are actually empty,” said Place.

Each year, the Empty Bowls are held throughout the country in order to achieve awareness of the hunger and poverty people face on a day-to-day basis and to raise money to donate to local hunger-relief causes. Any money raised from the dinners will help to assist the Summer meals at the Open Door and their Mobile Market programs.

This would not have been able to happen without the help of Marty Morgan and Nina Goodick, who glazed and fired the majority of the bowls with Judy Bidwell and Scott Place.

The dinner will include a cookie, a roll, and their bowl filled with soup from a choice of the 24 different restaurants including Katrina’s, Lobsta land, Gloucester House, Ducksworth Bistro, and Casa de Louis.

The dinner will be hosted at Cruiseport Gloucester at 6 Rowe Square from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets will be available at the door. $15 for adults and $10 for children under ten.

There will be extra parking available at Harbor Beach with complimentary trolley service to and from the event.