To a hungry person, there isn’t much inspiration in an empty bowl.

But to supporters of the Georgia Mountain Food Bank, an empty bowl serves as a reminder of their commitment to feed the hungry people in the community.

“Hunger is a real, real problem and it’s hard to think about,” Georgia Mountain Food Bank Executive Director Kay Blackstock said.

“It’s hard for people to wrap their heads around the fact that there are families who are skipping meals so their children can eat. There are senior citizens who get excited about a pack of saltine crackers because they are skipping meals because they are living on such limited income.”

The food bank held its sixth annual Empty Bowl Lunch on Thursday morning at the First Baptist Church on Green Street in Gainesville. It is the food bank’s only fundraiser of the year.

With the purchase of a $25 ticket, supporters are fed a simple meal and choose a hand-painted bowl to take home. The ticket also pays for 100 meals.

Blackstock thanked all of the many volunteers who make operating the food bank possible and the supporters who donated a bowl.

One volunteer, whom Blackstock described as a “champion” for the food bank, was named volunteer of the year.

Phil Dennis, assistant director of Interactive Neighborhood for Kids, oversees the paint-your-own pottery studio at INK and encouraged everyone he met to donate bowls to the luncheon. He used his personal time to have mobile painting parties to encourage more donations to the food bank. Through his efforts, 450 bowls were donated.

He said the bowls provide more than just a memory aid.

“We’re helping Georgia Mountain Food Bank and we help INK, another great nonprofit, and people get to express themselves with some great creativity,” Dennis said.

Several other volunteers were honored for their involvement with the food bank’s summer feeding program.

The program targeted students who receive free and reduced-price lunches during the school year but might not have access to nutritious meals during the summer months. The program expanded this year from two locations to six in Hall and Lumpkin counties.

Every day for two months this summer volunteers like Susan Kapelina took time out of their day to prepare sack lunches for hungry children.

Kapelina said she was eager to get involved with something that helped children.

“And I love to cook and I love nutrition, so it kind of married the two things I love to do together,” Kapelina said.

Mary Anne Klimek and her 12-year-old daughter, Harmony Klimek, also volunteered over the summer months to prepare and distribute food to hungry children.

Mary Anne Klimek said she feels helping the needy is a mandate from God. She also helps prepare a meal for the hungry at her church in Flowery Branch. She said the volunteer service is the trade-off for the food her church receives.

“The food bank is a bank. You go and you make a deposit, we’re the deposit, and then our church makes the withdrawals to make the food for their smaller food bank,” Klimek said.

The volunteers themselves expressed gratitude for the support given to the food bank.

“Gainesville, I have found out, really is a community that works together to reach out to people and organizations,” Dennis said.