UPDATED: 28th Annual Soup Bowl Benefit will be a hybrid in-person and virtual event on Sunday, February 20, 2022, 5-7pm

The 28th Annual Soup Bowl Benefit for Hoosier Hills Food Bank is back!  This year’s event, scheduled for Sunday, February 20, 2022, will be a hybrid event, as we move back to a more normal, in-person event.  Due to safety concerns with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the event will return as a safety-positive, in-person event at approximately 50% attendance at the Monroe Convention Center.  In addition to the limited 300 in-person tickets being sold this year, the Soup Bowl Benefit will be livestreamed on the Mandolin platform to viewers all over the world (with a 48-hour replay).  Hand-made bowls by local potters will be provided to the in-person attendees at the event and will be available for pick up by livestream ticket holders in advance at the Monroe Convention Center.   The program will be hosted this year by “Brother William” Morris (host of WFIU’s Soul Kitchen) and will feature great entertainment, including live and recorded contributions from Wadzanai Marimba, Carrie Newcomer, Malcolm Daglish, and Sam Bartlett, Eric Schedler, Joanna Hyde and Tadhg Ó Meachair.
 
In-person and virtual ticket prices are as listed below, and both are available for purchase through the Soup Bowl Ticket link at www.hhfoodbank.org.  The event will occur from 5pm to approximately 7pm on Sunday, February 20.
 

• In-person attendance with 1 bowl (limit of 300): $40
• Livestream ticket with 1 bowl: $30
• Livestream only ticket without bowl: $15 ​

COVID safety protocols
Current Monroe County Health Department orders in place at the time of the event will be followed. HHFB reserves the right to convert in-person tickets to virtual if health conditions or regulations require it. Proof of vaccination or negative test required at the door for all ticket holders 5 and older.  PCR test within 72 hours or professionally administered rapid Antigen test within 6 hours. 
 
Sponsorships information at www.hhfoodbank.org (includes in-person or virtual livestream tickets).
 
*Virtual livestream bowls will be randomly assigned and may be picked up safely at the Monroe Convention Center on Saturday, February 19 (more details provided at purchase).  All bowls will be hand-crafted by local potters.
 
Proceeds will benefit Hoosier Hills Food Bank, whose response to the pandemic has helped the must vulnerable in our community address challenges of food insecurity. For nearly 4 decades, the Hoosier Hills Food Bank has been the principal non-profit food distribution organization for those facing food insecurity in south-central Indiana.  HHFB collects, stores and distributes food to nearly 100 non-profit agencies that feed the hungry in Brown, Lawrence, Orange, Owen, Martin and Monroe counties and through direct service programs. Food distribution has remained consistently  higher than pre-pandemic levels .  The Soup Bowl Benefit, now in its 28th year, brings together the local arts and restaurant communities, which have also been hard-hit by COVID-19.  Potters donate many of our bowls, and the remainder will be reimbursed at wholesale cost to help support their important work. 
 
“We’re excited to bring back an in-person component of the Soup Bowl in 2022.  It’s an important step toward building the new post-Covid normal and regaining opportunities for fellowship and community, however we’re still conscious of the pandemic’s effects so we’re taking a small step with about half the normal crowd and retaining the right to go all virtual if necessary. But even those who can’t join us in person can join us virtually for a great experience.  It will be a great chance to come together and support the cause of food security for all in our community,” said HHFB Executive Director and CEO Julio Aonso.