The Gabber Pinellas County's oldest independent weekly newspaper
From left, Pinellas County Commissioner Pat Gerard and Judy Ellis, president of the Lakewood Estates Civic Association, eat their soup and crackers during the St. Petersburg Free Clinic’s annual Soup’s On awareness-raising event Friday October 2 at the St. Petersburg Coliseum.
“I know in a few hours I’ll be hungry again,” Beth Houghton, the Free Clinic’s executive director, told the assembly. She said 1 out of 7 people in Pinellas County, and 4 out 7 children, are “food insecure,” which means they often don’t have enough to eat. Through its food bank the Free Clinic feeds 50,000 people a month, Houghton said. The Soup’s On event raised $81,000 and 5,000 pounds of food. The Free Clinic also provides healthcare and shelter to those in need.
