Riverhead High School students served homemade soup in original ceramic bowls and — along with faculty and staff — exhibited and sold photos at a novel fundraiser for the Phillips Avenue Elementary School food pantry Thursday.
The final tally for the “Empty Bowls” fundraiser was not yet available, but the three teachers coordinating the event agreed it was a great success.
The students sold more than 130 bowls of three varieties of soup — potato, cheddar broccoli and minestrone — prepared by the high school cooking club. Hand-crafted bowls made by ceramics students were available for purchase; the price included a serving of soup.
A photo show featuring entries by students, faculty and staff was curated by high school art teacher Jo-Ann Dellaposta. The jazz band provided live music.
“This was a really great event, with the clubs coming together like this. The kids did a wonderful job,” Riverhead High School principal Dr. Charles Regan said as he looked at the photos on display. “The band sounded great.”
“I was impressed with the turnout.”
Cooking club adviser Roberta MacGray, a family and consumer science teacher at the high school, said teachers bought about 60 bowls of soup during the day for lunch.
Club members — about 30 strong — started making the soups early that morning. Blue Duck Bakery and Panera Bread donated the breads that were served with the soup and Blue Duck donated pastries.
The Phillips Avenue Elementary School food pantry has been operating since January 2015. Started by Phillips Avenue principal Debra Rodgers and teacher Jean-Marie Mazzaferro, the pantry was the first of its kind inside a school in the Riverhead Central School District.
RiverheadLOCAL photos by Peter Blasl
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