The number of families struggling to put food on the table keeps growing.

The Juvenile Welfare Board says one in eight children in Pinellas County is food insecure.

“But summer is even worse, because school is not in session all summer, kids are at home more, and they don’t have school food to rely on all the way through the summer,” Juvenile Welfare Board CEO Houghton said.

Houghton says the two big gaps in resources in the summer are between the end of the school year and start of summer school, and at the end of the summer before the school year starts back up.

The JWB and St. Pete Free Clinic are partnering to hold six drive-thru mobile food pantries over the summer to serve a total of 2,000 families in Pinellas County.

“Every single car that’s going through this line has a story,” Houghton said.

Houghton says cars lined up at the drive-thru food pantry on Saturday in Clearwater to receive bags of fresh groceries.

“It takes a village to raise five kids,” one father of five said.

Houghton says food insecurity has continued to grow post-pandemic.

“Pushing 50% of our families in our county are either at or below the poverty level, or most of those, about 35%, give or take, are at or below just a living wage,” she said.

Families at the drive-thru food pantry say they feel the economic burden every day.

“I feel it every day, trying to make sure they’re fed, make sure they have a roof over their head and everything,” one father said.

At the drive-thru food pantry, families received fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, meats and other groceries. Event organizers also provided families with resources to other food pantries throughout Pinellas County.

“It means a lot, because a lot of us, it’s hard because I work, but still can’t afford a lot of stuff, so with a little bit of extra help would help the community a lot,” one father said.

Organizers say rising rent costs, prices at the grocery store and everyday bills often force families to choose between paying one of those bills or putting food on the table.

On Saturday, they say around 400 families left with groceries and resources.

“It is always very, incredibly touching,” Houghton said. “There are tears, there are ‘Bless you’. There’s always incredible gratitude. Often, often we hear, ‘I don’t know what I would’ve done without this.’”

The Juvenile Welfare Board and St. Pete Free clinic are holding several other drive-thru food pantries this summer.

To find more information on these events, click here.

View the news segment and interview with JWB CEO Beth Houghton at https://www.fox13news.com/news/drive-thru-food-pantries-pinellas-county-helping-struggling-families-over-summer

Several families in need were able to put food on the table thanks to local organizations who partnered together.

The Juvenile Welfare Board and St. Pete Free Clinic gave out hundreds of meals.

Families received food like fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy, canned goods, and more.

“Even though I do work, it’s still hard to have food for your household,” said Chery Harris, a mother of three.

The event started at 9 a.m., but cars were lined up hours before the event started.

“Most of the folks you would see here in this line, one or both of the adults in the household are working, which is why we scheduled this on a Saturday,” said Beth Houghton, with JWB.

Juvenile Welfare Board’s CEO, Beth Houghton, said they are committed to ensuring no child goes hungry, and invest $4.2 million in bulk food with the St. Pete Free Clinic.

During the summer, Houghton said they wanted to come up with a solution to help bridge the gap of children who may not have access to food.

“It was clear that we were going to have two really big gaps this summer where kids were not at school getting food, but would go a week or two weeks without access to school food,” she said.

According to Houghton, families face several challenges in today’s world, including COVID funds ending.

“Higher rent and higher food costs, and other costs where families’ incomes do not keep up, there are just a lot of people who are strapped,” Houghton said.

Mothers like Harris said nobody should be starving, and that as a working mother, it’s still hard to put food on the table.

“You can go to the grocery store and spend $100 and come out with three bags. What’s three bags that’s going to last a week, not very much,” she said. “At least with this, you’ll have something to add to whatever you have in your household.”

More than 50 pounds of food were given away to each family, with several volunteers dedicating their time to help make a difference.

“Keep in mind tonight, if you sit down with your kids and have food in the pantry or refrigerator that you can pull out, without worrying, how fortunate you are,” Houghton said.

This event was one of six that will be taking place this summer. For a list of all of the summer events, click here.

Watch the interview with JWB CEO Beth Houghton at https://www.wfla.com/news/hundreds-line-up-as-local-organizations-partner-to-feed-kids-during-the-summer/

This summer there will be six opportunities for families in Pinellas County to receive free fresh food from a drive-through mobile food pantry.

The first one is on Saturday, June 22.

It’s at the JWB Parking Lot, 14155 58th Street North in Clearwater (33760) from 9:00 a.m. until noon (while supplies last).

An email news release from the Juvenile Welfare Board (JWB) and St. Petersburg Free Clinic (SPFC) provided details about this and the other five free food events that they anticipate will help feed about 2,000 families.

“A perfect storm is brewing for struggling families,” stated Beth Houghton, JWB Chief Executive Officer. “Summer is always a challenge, given so many children count on school meals for their daily nutrition. This summer is particularly tough since a pandemic-initiated stipend of $300 per child will end for families who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, otherwise known as Summer EBT. This comes at a time of high housing, utility, and food costs, and the gap-weeks before and after summer school are of particular concern.”

“JWB is committed to ensuring no child goes hungry. We invest $4.2M in bulk food with the St. Pete Free Clinic, which then distributes to food banks and pantries across Pinellas County,” Houghton said. “We will access these investments to distribute free fresh food to families at six drive-thru mobile sites in mid, north, and south Pinellas County, starting this Saturday.”

According to the press release, each “family will receive a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, proteins/meats, dairy, eggs, cereals, canned goods, and more – approximately 52+ pounds of food per family. A total of 21,000 pounds of food will be given away at each event, which equates to 126,000 pounds of food distributed across the six events when summer ends.”

Here is a list of all six summer food events: www.jwbpinellas.org/calendar/free-summer-food-for-families/

Read the article as originally published at https://www.wmnf.org/six-opportunities-for-pinellas-families-to-get-free-fresh-fruits-vegetables-meats

With school out, and students no longer will have access to free meals at school, there’s help this weekend to help pack the fridge with free fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, and more. Pinellas County families in need are welcome to join the Juvenile Welfare Board (JWB) and St. Petersburg Free Clinic (SPFC) for the first of six drive-through mobile food pantries this Saturday. This event will be in the JWB Parking Lot located at 14155 58th in Clearwater.

“A perfect storm is brewing for struggling families,” stated Beth Houghton, JWB Chief Executive Officer. “Summer is always a challenge, given so many children count on school meals for their daily nutrition. This summer is particularly tough since a pandemic-initiated stipend of $300 per child will end for families who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, otherwise known as Summer EBT. This comes at a time of high housing, utility, and food costs, and the gap-weeks before and after summer school are of particular concern.”

Each family will receive around approximately 52 pounds of food. But this is on a first come, first served basis that begins and noon and is scheduled to end at noon. If you are not able to join in this first event, I can show you where the next five will be by clicking here.

Read the article as originally published at https://www.wduv.com/entertainment/mobile-food-pantry-event/NLECSKAQONDY3NC5MMYXRFIP5A/

The Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County (JWB) is pleased to announce that Robbi Stivers has been named Chief Financial Officer of the organization. “We are extremely fortunate to have Robbi join our team,” stated Beth Houghton, JWB Chief Executive Officer. “He has extensive experience navigating the intricacies of government finance in top executive roles, mainly in higher education, and has a track record for demonstrating strong accountability and transparency, making him a good fit for our organization.”

See the original coverage as published at https://stpetecatalyst.com/shuffle/robbi-stivers/