With more than 1,500 guests and 2,000 bowls expected this year, EMPTY BOWLS--AN ARTFUL LUNCHEON TO FIGHT HUNGER will be staged in the East Room of the Amon G. Carter Exhibit Hall, Will Rogers Memorial Center, 3401 W. Lancaster, Fort Worth. The East Room is across the hall from the event's previous home in the Round Up Inn. 

Doors open at 11 a.m. for corporate and individual sponsors; 11:30 a.m. for ticket holders. Bowls and luncheon soups and desserts will be offered until 1 p.m. Each guest may select a bowl as a keepsake from among the approximately 2,000 bowls. 

TICKETS are $35 for regular admission or $100 for an individual sponsor to enter the event early and be among the first to select a bowl. Parking is free. 

ALL TICKETS MUST BE PURCHASED IN ADVANCE, either online at www.tafb.org/Events, or by phone (817-332-9177 ext. 110) or mail (Tarrant Area Food Bank, 2600 Cullen St., Fort Worth, TX 76107). 

FEATURED THIS YEAR, in addition to the Silent Auction with art pieces and the Bump Table with larger bowls, is the Gallery. The Gallery will offer a very limited number (20 to 30) of some of the most artistic bowls that can be purchased for $100 each, a donation worth 400 meals for families in need. 

ARTISANS and STUDIOS contributing bowls and other art are, AMONG OTHERS, Janet Rodriguez of Hart Street Pottery and the volunteer artists who painted bowls at her studio, June Whitacre of Tokyo Rose Clayworks, Cindi Wills and Roy Odom of Stonecreek Studio Pottery, Ron Hollister Pottery, The Woodturners of North Texas and members of the LMRA Pottery Studio. 

THE 22 RESTAURANTS, CATERERS AND OTHER FOOD PROVIDERS donating their cuisine and time include the following: Participating FOR THE FIRST TIME are Blue Mesa Grill, Mac's on 7th Street and Omni Fort Worth Hotel; RETURNING are BK's Creative Catering, Bonnell's, City Kitchen Catering, Feastivities, Blue Bonnet Bakery, Judie Byrd - The Culinary School of Fort Worth, La Familia, Lonesome Dove Western Bistro, Paris Coffee Shop, Reata Restaurant, Riscky's Catering, Ruffino's Ristorante Italiano, Starbucks, Tarrant Area Food Bank Community Kitchen, Tarrant County College Southeast Campus, The Covey Restaurant & Brewery, Tom Thumb Signature Soups, Ultimate Cuisine and Events by Chef Tom and Wild About Food. 

GREEN IS STILL IN at Empty Bowls. Dishes and eating utensils are made from potato and corn starches. This organic matter decomposes quickly without harming the environment.  

SPONSORS include: Presenting Sponsor Tom Thumb, Urology Associates of North Texas, WBAP 820 Talk Radio, WFAA-TV 8, Star-Telegram, Indulge, AmeriCredit, Crystelle Waggoner Trust/Bank of America, Klabzuba Foundation, The Ryan Foundation, XTO Energy, Jere Robertson, Wells Fargo, Kay and Bob Bolz, Rosalyn Rosenthal, Coors, Northrop Grumman, Dunn Family, Frost, Haltom's Jewelers, Keene & Associates, Ben E. Keith, McClane Family, National Semiconductor, Frank W. Neal & Associates, Pier 1 Imports, Quicksilver Resources, Allan Saxe, Texas Health Harris Methodist Fort Worth and The T. 

TARRANT AREA FOOD BANK, founded in 1982 to collect and distribute donated food, provides food in 13 counties to emergency pantries, soup kitchens, Kids Cafes and other after-school programs, emergency shelters, senior centers, BackPacks for Kids and other social service programs. Each month, this network of charities distributes emergency groceries to 44,000 families and serves more than 575,000 meals and snacks on charities’ sites. Since mid-2008, the number of families served by pantries alone has increased 37 percent.