Pinellas County Hotels and Restaurants Collect Food for RCS Food Bank
In July, twenty four Pinellas County hotels and restaurants partnered with the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, and RCS Pinellas for “Christmas in July”. Together, they collected almost 3,000 pounds of food to distribute to the food insecure in Pinellas County. This equates to about 3,600 meals for those in need.
“Each time a child goes hungry it’s a loss for us here at RCS. On average, we provide food for several hundred children, adults and seniors on a daily basis; while we’re thankful to be in a position to support so many of our neighbors, at times it still feels like fighting hunger is a losing battle. Because of the incredible and selfless generosity of the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association, and the vision of Dan Shouvlin, owner of Clearsky Restaurants, we secured several hundred more wins. I guess there really is a Christmas in July,” says Kirk Ray Smith, President & CEO of RCS Pinellas.
Christmas in July is an initiative where local places of business receive and decorate an RCS food barrel to collect canned goods for the whole month of July. Donations like these are vital during the summer months as food bank donations tend to dwindle.
Participating hotels and restaurants include: Alden Suites, Bilmar Beach Resort, CJ Publishers, Clear Sky Beachside Café, Clear Sky on Cleveland, Clear Sky Draught Haus, Clearwater Beach Marriott Suites, Cooters Restaurant & Bar, Daiquiri Shak, Frenchy’s Original, Frenchy’s Outpost, Frenchy’s Rockaway, Frenchy’s Saltwater, Frenchy’s South Beach, Hilton St. Petersburg Carillon, Opal Sands, Sandpearl Resort, St. Petersburg Marriott Clearwater, Sunset Vistas, The Birchwood, The Hotel Indigo, The Vinoy Renaissance, Two Buks, and Wyndham Grand Clearwater.
RCS Pinellas has provided help & hope to people in need for over 50 years. RCS’s mission is to feed the hungry, help families facing homelessness return to self-sufficiency, and empower survivors of domestic violence. Over 130,000 Pinellas County individuals are served annually with dignity to accomplish this mission at the RCS Food Bank, the RCS Grace House, The Haven of RCS, and RCS thrift store partnerships.
For more information on RCS, visit www.rcspinellas.org or call 727-584-3528.