Manducatis Rustica, 46-33 Vernon Blvd
March 6, 2017 By Hannah Wulkan
A Long Island City restaurateur and a local pottery studio are once again working together to combat hunger throughout the City.
Local restaurant Manducatis Rustica and pottery studio Brickhouse Ceramic have teamed up for an Empty Bowls fundraiser once again, which will offer a handmade bowl and a light meal to participants for a donation of $25 to a local charity that helps feed the hungry in New York City.
It will be hosted at Manducatis Rustica at 46-33 Vernon Boulevard on Wednesday night from 5 to 7 p.m., and all proceeds will go to LIC-based charity Cru Inner City, a faith-based charity that provides food to more than 25 city soup kitchens and food pantries.
Those attending the fundraiser can buy a bowl for a $25 donation and then will be able to choose from a variety of soups and salads donated by Cerbone-Teoli.
“I think our job right now is to focus on doing the right thing by the people getting lost between the cracks of society,” said Gianna Cerbone-Teoli, who owns Manducatis Rustica and is organizing the event.
All of the bowls sold at the fundraiser are donated, primarily by local artists from the Brickhouse Ceramic Arts Center. However Cerbone-Teoli said she has been receiving donations from all over the country, and just opened a shipment all the way from the state of Washington.
“The point is to focus it on the fact that people are helping the hungry, and that this is not just another event but is about doing the right thing,” she said.
Cerbone-Teoli said that in the past, attendance at the fundraiser has reached over 400 people, and that it grows every year. This year she has collected nearly 600 bowls from local artists, and hopes to see that many people attend.
“Nobody realizes how powerful LIC is,” Cerbone-Teoli said. “They don’t realize what we can do and have done and keep on doing, but I hope that we can just keep on growing.”
For more information and to purchase a bowl visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lic-empty-bowls-tickets-31610818810.
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