Rochester’s Empty Bowls Pre-Order is Now Open

I remember when my husband and I moved to Rochester and we learned about Empty Bowls for the first time I was so excited. I thought it was such a cool way to raise money for a good cause.

Empty Bowls raises money for Rochester's Channel One Regional Food Bank. You pre-order a soup of your choice (this year there are 8 different soups from 8 local restaurants) and the money that's raised helps people in need in our area.

Pre-ordering is now open! And you HAVE to pre-order, walk-up orders are not allowed.

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Empty Bowls 2026 Menu

Before we get into the pre-ordering details, we have to know what's on the menu first.

Bleu Duck - Lobster Bisque
Canadian Honker - Vegetable Beef (dairy free)
Chester's - Tomato Basil (vegetarian, gluten free)
Five West - Smoked Gouda Chicken Wild Rice (gluten free)
The Hubble House - Brisket Chili (gluten free, dairy free)
Pinnacle Catering - Mushroom Kale (vegan, gluten free)
Thai Pop - Tom Kha Chicken (gluten free, dairy free)
Victoria's - Chicken Enchilada (gluten free)

I've definitely ordered Five West's Smoke Gouda Chicken Wild Rice soup and would HIGHLY recommend. It's so good.

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Pre-Order for Empty Bowls Rochester

Now how do we order this delicious soup?

Over on Channel One's website you can pre-order which soup you want. Just a heads up, the portions are 16 oz., so if you want your order from Empty Bowls to fill you up, I'd suggest ordering 2 or 3 different soups per person.

One 16 oz. soup is $25, and this includes a special, hand-painted bowl that was hand-painted by a volunteer. (You can opt-out of receiving a hand-painted bowl, too, if you'd like.)

After picking your soup(s), you'll decide a day and time to pick them up. The options this year are Tuesday, October 13th or Wednesday, October 14th between 11 AM and 6 PM.

Pre-ordering is open now and closes at 6 PM on Wednesday, October 7th, so get your orders in!