Huntington, W.Va. — Jon Rickey’s goal is to work himself out of a job.

“In the wealthiest country in the world, we have families in our own back yards that must choose between paying the rent and feeding their families,” said Rickey, executive director of the Huntington Area Food Bank (HAFB). “This is unacceptable. I would love nothing more than for our work to be unneeded because we have finally won the fight against hunger.”

Rickey has been the director of the Huntington Area Food Bank for five of the organization’s 26 years of existence. Since it was founded in 1983, the HAFB has expanded its service area and programs to 17 counties in West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky. It currently feeds 85,000 people each month.

“Most people think we are simply a food pantry that serves the Huntington area,” he said, “but we are actually the distribution hub for more than 290 agencies throughout the Tri-State. We supply food to food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters and other hunger programs in our region.”

In its first year of operation, the HAFB distributed around 300,000 pounds of food to programs in Cabell and Wayne counties in West Virginia. Today, the organization distributes 10 times that amount, sending close to 3 million pounds of food to its 290 member agencies in Cabell, Wayne, Putnam, and Kanawha counties in W.Va.; Lawrence County in Ohio; Boyd, Greenup, Carter, and Lawrence counties in Ky., and the eight other counties in the Tri-State area.

“We could not accomplish what we’ve been able to do without the support of the communities we serve,” said Brooke Ash, HAFB public relations coordinator. “The economic troubles today have had a serious impact on our ability to distribute food to those who need it.”

One way for community members to help support the food bank and its member agencies is through the sixth annual Empty Bowls event. Public relations students from the Marshall University (MU) School of Journalism and Mass Communications, and the Keramos Student Potter’s Guild host the event to raise money for the HAFB.

Community members are invited to enjoy a soup lunch donated by area restaurants and participate in a silent auction featuring memorabilia, gift baskets and other prizes.

Each person who gives a $12 donation receives a lunch of soup and bread and a handcrafted ceramic bowl to serve as a constant reminder of the empty bowls in our community and the ongoing hunger problem all over the world. The event will be, April 7 from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., at First Presbyterian Church, 1015 Fifth Ave., Huntington, W.Va.

Pottery students and members of the potter’s guild have already begun production of the 1,000 bowls they plan to sculpt this year. MU public relations student and Empty Bowls campaign representative Erica Rife said she hopes the community supports the event and the groups participating in it.

“We’re all completely dedicated to this cause,” she said. “We hope this is something the Huntington area and surrounding communities will support.”

For more information about the HAFB, please call Brooke Ash at (304) 523-6029 or e-mail hafbmail@hafb.org. For more information about the Empty Bowls event, call Campaign Director Meagan Sellards at (304) 412-5900 or e-mail emptybowls@marshall.edu. Erica Rife, the media representative, can be reached at (304) 360-3394, e-mail emptybowls@marshall.edu.