The Park Student Union was abuzz with much more than the average Saturday lunch crowd as students had the opportunity to help the less fortunate, get a meal and listen to some live music.

An Empty Bowls fundraiser collaborated with the Rock for Hunger concert March 22 to raise money for local food banks, said Sean Hughes, a higher education graduate student.

The fundraiser offered people the opportunity to buy a bowl of soup, while donating money to help the hungry. The ceramic soup bowls were decorated so people would be willing to pay more for the bowl of soup and help a good cause, said Chris Hargraves, senior coordinator of campus community connections with the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership.

“”I just love the idea and the concept of itself,”” Hargraves said. “”You get a bowlð – it’s supposed to signify that there are empty bowls in the world – but you also get a meal out of it as well.””

Tucson Clay Co-op donated some of the bowls, but most were made and donated by children from Garden Lakes Elementary School in Avondale, Ariz., Hargraves said. Sweet Tomatoes donated the soup.

Hargraves said he had seen Empty Bowls fundraisers at other schools and thought it could be successful at the UA.

In addition to soup bowl sales, canned food donation boxes were set up in some residence halls and in the Student Union Memorial Center prior to the fundraiser, Hargraves said.

They sold 50 bowls of soup for a total of $150 and around 100 cans of food were collected, Hughes said in an e-mail. More than 600 people should benefit from the various donations collected during the event.

“”It’s a great way to raise some money and get the community involved, as well,”” Hargraves said. Any unused bowls were set aside for a future Empty Bowls fundraiser.

Rock for Hunger, a fundraising concert aimed to help eliminate local hunger, featured three bands and cost $3,500 to put on, Hughes said.

Local bands AV, Vine St., and Raining and OK all played one-hour sets throughout the afternoon on the grass outside Park Student Union, Hughes said.

Both AV and Vine St. Navy are from Tucson and Raining and OK is from Phoenix, he said.

Melanie Russell, a retailing and consumer sciences freshman, said she and her two friends were walking by and stopped to listen to the band.

Russell said she watched Vine St. perform for about 45 minutes and thought they were “”really good.””

“”It’s a really nice day, there’s good music, (I’m in the) right place at the right time,”” Russell said about stumbling upon the concert.

She said she noticed the Empty Bowls fundraiser going on but she was more interested in the free concert.

“”I might donate some food. I don’t need a bowl,”” Russell said.