Other than helping to feed the hungry, it is hard to say if it's the homemade soup or the handmade ceramic bowls that attract ever-increasing numbers of people to the Empty Bowls Dinner?

That would be a tough call, for people who attended the annual event yesterday were greeted with a dizzying array of 1,800 bowls and 310 gallons of soup from more than 20 restaurants and caterers.

The event held at Rodef Shalom Congregation in Shadyside is billed as "a simple meal of soup and bread that reminds us that many of our neighbors are struggling to feed their families."

People pay $20 each for an empty bowl and the simple meal. Proceeds go to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and Just Harvest, nonprofit organizations that help the poor and the hungry.

The first dinner was held in 1996, and attendance has grown each year, said Ken Regal, co-director of Just Harvest.

Last year more than 1,400 people came, and yesterday's total was expected to exceed that, especially since it didn't rain or snow.

Participants see the bowls first, arranged in rows along multiple tables.

"This year bowls were made by children as young as 4 or 5 to people as old as 80," Mr. Regal pointed out. Handmade bowls came from many sources, including professional artists. students in Pittsburgh Public Schools, residents of Friendship Village in Upper St. Clair and the art department at Carlow University, which held "Bowls Into the Night" demonstrations and bowl-making sessions.

Most people put a lot of thought and consideration into picking out their bowls.

Four-year-old Ivan Gadzhiyev of Glenshaw seemed thrilled with a bright yellow bowl decorated with pink stars and green hearts. His mother, Gloria Gadzhiyev, was holding a dark brown bowl, eyeing it critically. Jim Baumiller of Glenshaw, father of Gloria and grandfather of Ivan, shook his head, saying he'd seen bowls that he liked better, so the search continued.

Empty Bowls participants are allowed to trade bowls if they see something they like better, and that seemed to be part of the fun. As empty bowls are chosen and space opens up on the tables, volunteers fill in the gaps with "new" bowls, which often prompts a new round of trades.

The pretty ceramic bowls aren't actually filled up with soup during the fund-raiser. Disposable bowls are used to facilitate clean up, volunteers explained.

As many as six different soups are served at a time. A wall projector tells people which soups are being dished out at any given time. Yesterday, at the 2 p.m. start of the dinner, selections included chicken noodle from Giant Eagle, vegan vegetable soup from Kazansky's Deli and tomato parmesan from Bradley House of Catering.

More than 125 volunteers staffed the event from 2 to 7 p.m. An extra hour was added this year in an effort to keep the lines shorter.

Cathy McGinley of Whitehall said she's been volunteering at Empty Bowls for 10 years. Yesterday her job was handing out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to people who wanted a little more than soup. She also volunteers regularly at the food bank's Duquesne office.

"When I retired after 37 years with TWA airlines, I wanted to give something back," Mrs. McGinley said. Yesterday she also helped newcomers navigate the system. She pointed out the display of soups being served, and tipped people to watch for favorites sought by repeat customers, such as the sherry bisque from the Hyeholde restaurant.