There is something deeply Long Beach about the gathering Sara Pilchman has spent years imagining: Local artists make the bowls. Local restaurants fill them. Neighbors sit down to eat together—and that lunch helps put food on someone else’s table.
That idea becomes a reality on Saturday, Nov. 7, when the inaugural Empty Bowls Long Beach takes over First Congregational Church Downtown, bringing a stacked roster of chefs, more than 400 locally made ceramic bowls, and a cause that extends well beyond an afternoon of soup.
Tickets are $35, including a soup lunch and a handcrafted bowl to take home. All proceeds benefit the Volunteer Center’s Food For Kids program, which helps feed children and families across Long Beach and the South Bay.
Sara Pilchman is the clay that binds and shapes Empty Bowl’s inaugural appearance in Long Beach.
And behind the whole thing is Sara, the ceramic artist whose desire to bring this international grassroots hunger-relief movement home has been more than a decade in the making.
“Empty Bowls was an event I first participated in at Juniata College in 2009, and I have loved it ever since,” Pilchman said. “After returning home to Long Beach in 2012 and getting involved in local ceramics studios, I dreamed of bringing the program to our vibrant, creative city.”
It is an easy connection to understand here. Long Beach’s food community and its arts community continually give us reasons to gather, whether around a restaurant table, inside a studio, or at a neighborhood event. Empty Bowls puts those worlds in direct conversation, with the work of a potter and the work of a cook becoming a way to care for the people who live alongside us.
“An event combining food lovers, artists, and those passionate about our community seemed especially aligned for us,” Sara said.
Who is participating in Empty Bowls Long Beach?
With support from her business mastermind group through the Small Business Development Center and a subsequent partnership with the Volunteer Center South Bay/Harbor/Long Beach, that long-held idea finally has a date, a home, and a whole lot of bowls.
And, yes, a lineup worth bringing your appetite for.
Chef Michael Flores of Marlena is contributing kale-and-lentil soup. Master baker and chef Kristin Colazas‑Rodriguez of Colossus Bakery will be serving a squash soup. Chef Matthew Roberts (formerly of Alder & Sage) and his True North Social Club are bringing pozole verde. Pitmaster Dennis Robicheau of Shady Grove Foods will serve split pea. Chef Brennan Villareal Got Your Back will serve arroz caldo. Battabong BBQ is bringing chicken curry. Cafe Avenue Soup will offer minestrone…
Homareya, Gene’s Goods,, and Alder & Sage are also participating, with their contributions still to be announced.
Take home your bowl, hand-made locally at Empty Bowls Long Beach…
It is a lineup that gives the lunch its own distinctly local character: Multiple kitchens. Different approaches to comfort. And a shared willingness to contribute food toward feeding others. For anyone who follows Long Beach’s restaurants, it is also an opportunity to see familiar names working toward something together.
Guests will choose from more than 400 ceramic bowls made locally, each becoming part of the experience and something to carry home afterward. Jazz Angels, the nonprofit music organization, will provide the afternoon’s soundtrack.
“We’ll share a meal together while being serenaded by the musical nonprofit organization Jazz Angels, and support a great cause,” Sara said. “The bowl is yours to keep as a reminder of how we feed and are fed by our community.”
That last sentiment gets to the heart of Empty Bowls. The object you leave with has a purpose beyond this one lunch. The next time you reach for it in your kitchen, it can bring you back to the people who made it, the people who filled it, and the neighbors your ticket helped support.
The nonprofit organization supported by Empty Bowls feeds thousands of kids every week…
Organizers say Food For Kids provides more than 9,000 meals weekly through partner schools and educational programs. The Volunteer Center also offers food assistance through its community pantries in Torrance and Long Beach, extending that support to households beyond the school partnerships.
For families trying to stretch grocery budgets, access to that food matters every week. This gathering gives Long Beach a straightforward way to contribute: Buy a ticket, bring a friend, share a meal, and help sustain the work already happening to keep local children and families fed. Sara hopes this first lunch will become an annual tradition, growing along with the community around it.
And there is a beautiful possibility in that: A bowl made here. Filled by a chef working here with their creation. And taken home here, all to help make sure another family has something to put on the table.
Empty Bowls Long Beach takes place on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, from 11AM to 2PM at First Congregational Church of Long Beach, 241 Cedar Ave. Tickets are $35 and include soup and a handcrafted ceramic bowl to keep. All proceeds benefit the Volunteer Center’s Food For Kids program. Purchase tickets here.
