POST FALLS — The 3rd Avenue Marketplace raised the bar to increase funding for its Weekend Backpack Program, and the community responded, bringing in more than $17,000 during the Empty Bowls fundraiser April 16, almost doubling the funds raised at last year's event. 

“This year marked the highest-grossing Empty Bowls event we’ve ever had,” Marketplace Executive Director Molli Nixon said.

The Post Falls School District has no school on Fridays. So, to keep kids fed all weekend long, the 3rd Avenue Marketplace asked for increased support to fund an extra day's worth of meals.  

Meals include a rotation of breakfast foods and snacks, such as oatmeal or cereal, granola bars, fruit cups and entrees like pop-top cans of ravioli. The program also stocks food pantries in the guidance offices of the middle and high schools in Post Falls and provides meals for Kootenai Classical Academy students.   

Empty Bowls also set a record with 300 tickets and came close to selling out of handcrafted bowls April 16 at Templin's Hotel on the River. 

Nixon called it “overwhelming support from our community, who showed up in ways we haven’t seen before for this event.” 

However, the nonprofit is still working to bolster its resources to keep up with the level of need in the community and is still asking for donations to feed more than 250 elementary students who benefit from the Weekend Backpack Program. 

"We are working to increase the amount of food we send home through our backpack program to help ensure the kiddos who need our support have enough food for all three days of a school weekend, rather than just two,” Nixon said. “This event was definitely a big help in moving us closer to that goal, but we do still need to continue seeking additional funding to make this expansion sustainable and possible long-term.” 

Templin’s on the River, Hands to Art and Post Falls Community Volunteers also assisted with the event. 

To donate or for more information: https://www.3rdavenuemarketplace.org/ 

    This year's Empty Bowls fundraiser raised more than $17,000 for the Weekend Backpack Program, which feeds local kids through the 3rd Avenue Marketplace.