Soup’s on and it’s lip-smacking’ good!

Already some of the best soup makers, from local restaurants and home kitchens, are putting together soups, chilies and stews for the Pike County Salvation Army’s Annual 13th Annual Empty Bowls Luncheon from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Friday at the fellowship hall of Bush Baptist Church in Troy.

Tickets are $20 and include the soup and dessert lunch, an “empty bowl” to take home, entertainment, celebrity bowl-bid opportunities and the fellowship of friends and neighbors.

Donna Kidd, Pike County Salvation Army  director, said the list of soups for the choosing include nine bean soup, cheese and broccoli soup, potato soup, turnip soup, cheese, broccoli and potato, and swap soup, just o name a few, For the more hearty diners there will be  camp stew and chili, hot and mild.

The Empty Bowls Luncheon will also feature a variety of desserts including bread pudding, pound cakes, cookies and brownies.

“You won’t go away hungry unless you want to,” Kidd said with a smile.

The featured entertainment will be by musician and vocalist Ed Whatley, who sings country and old-time gospel with some all-time favorites too.

Kidd said the annual Empty Bowls Luncheon supports the local Salvation Army’s Food Pantry and is the second largest fundraiser of the year for the local  service center.

“We greatly appreciate Pike County’s support of our annual Empty Bowls Luncheon,” Kidd said. “We have been dealing the pandemic for more than two years and prices continue to rise and many people are really struggling and the needs are many.

Kidd said the Salvation  Army is here to help those in the local community with unexpected and emergency needs. The Salvation Army’s food pantry is a blessing to many, she said.