Tucked away in the Lakewood Town Center, the Moon Rise Café doesn’t necessarily stand out, except in the ways that are important: good food, good service, good prices, and good hearts.

Restaurant owner Christine Curren believes in supporting local charities, but rather than hosting “takeovers” that offer a percentage of profits, or giving out coupons, Moonrise allows customers to “Pay it Forward.” All of it. As in, every so often, food at the café is free for the entire day and diners can choose to contribute whatever they want or are able to contribute to the charity featured that day.

On October 20, that Charity was Emergency Food Network. The Moon Rise raised $2,150 for EFN. Executive Director Helen McGovern was there to thank customers for supporting EFN’s work feeding Pierce County’s hungry. “In this economy for someone to donate 100% of their profits while still paying for staff time and all the food served is unheard of. The crew at Moon Rise Café deliver the best food ever and have the most generous hearts.” The need for emergency food is the biggest it has ever been in the organization’s 29-year history. They are set to go well beyond the 14.1 million pounds of food distributed to area feeding programs in 2010. They passed that number in September.

Chris is happy to offer people the chance to help reduce food-insecurity, and also hopes that some people who might not be able to afford a meal at a restaurant have the chance to pay whatever they can, if anything, for a meal at the Moon Rise on these special “Pay it Forward” days.

The restaurant world is a tough business, and many fail, yet the folks at the Moonrise can hopefully count on the good karma they should be accumulating for their efforts.

With a new location and the addition of a three-dimensional “Vessels” art show, Emergency Food Network expects that two art-focused events will bring an infusion of revenue to help feed hungry people in Pierce County. Traditionally a one-day event, this year marks the first year that organizers at EFN have added the art show. “Vessels” will focus on works from regional artists which will be judged and auctioned the evening before Empty Bowls. Tickets are $25 and light hors d’ouevres will be served. The event will be held at Charles Wright Academy in the Performing Arts Center.

The following day, the Traditional Empty Bowls event will be held in the Charles Wright Academy gymnasium. A long line forms before doors open at 1pm. For more than a decade, regular attendees have been known to arrive early for fear that the best bowls will be gone quickly. Local potters, carvers and glass workers will make over 1000 bowls for the event on November 19. Local restaurants contribute soup for attendees. Infinite Soups, Adriatic Grill, Asado, The Swiss, Pacific Grill, Chambers Bay, and PLU Catering offer soup this year while Charles Wright student band members will provide background music.

“We are extremely excited and grateful on so many levels to so many people—from the potters and artists of other mediums, to the restaurants, to our planning committee and our sponsors,” said EFN Development Director, Jeff Klein. “With the addition of the art show, we have now have two fun events that not only raise money to feed people, but also showcase the talent of local artists.

“This event is a great way to bring out the community for a good cause while showcasing local artists. We’re all very happy to partner with Charles Wright this year. We love the venue and believe that the response from the community to the addition of the juried show will be amazing,” said Lauren Dammeier, Empty Bowls committee chair and EFN Board Member.

Every bit of funding helps as the organization’s 67 partner food banks, hot meal sites, and shelter programs have experienced a tremendous rise in demand. Since 2008, the need in Pierce County has risen by 50%. EFN expects to distribute over 18 million pounds of food in 2011, or 4 million more pounds than in 2010.

EFN’s network of feeding programs sees 147,000 visits in Pierce County each month. EFN resources, warehouses, and distributes over 80% of the food distributed by food banks in the county. An increased emphasis on Food Purchasing capitalizes on EFN’s ability to leverage purchasing power to distribute $12 worth of food for every $1 donated.

For information about the Emergency Food Network and Empty Bowls, visit www.efoodnet.org