Randy Barber/staff photographer
Bowls, bowls, and more bowls wait to be selected by guests during the 5th annual Empty Bowls event and silent auction at Mainland High School, Friday, Dec. 7. With more than 17,000 homeless families in Volusia and Flagler counties, this charitable event is a fundraiser to benefit Halifax Urban Ministries (HUM), an organization that provides for the needy in Volusia County. Art students and master potters from all over Volusia County created more than 1,000 bowls for the event. Guests were able to choose a bowl, eat a meal with food donated by more than 20 area restaurants, and then would keep the bowl as a gift and reminder of all the empty bowls in the world.