“If you ever want my help just say children, garden or elderly.”
These are the passions that drive Ava DeVaux in her work in the community of South St. Pete. For the past 6 years, she has been a driving force behind the Bartlett Park Community Garden.
You can find her there throughout the week caring for the crops and teaching others how to do the same. She loves being able to show people how food grows and what it looks like since many people are only used to seeing food in stores.
Originally from Quitman, Georgia, Ava was raised on a farm.
“This is me, I’m an outdoors person”, she says. She grew up in the country with her grandparents who took care of everything on the farm. From all the crops to the livestock, they did it all. Eventually, there were 8 children living with her grandparents and they each had their own gardens.
“We competed with each other. You name it, we were growing it.” This is where Ava’s love for gardening started. From age 9 until 21 she worked as a field hand as a way to make money and help her grandparents. Ava’s passion for gardening also came from her mother who is a gardener. “Mom has a green thumb.”
By: Madeline Seiberlich
Ever since moving to St. Petersburg, Ava recalls driving by the Bartlett gardening and noticing how beautiful it was. One day she decided to stop by and start helping.
After meeting Mr. Tony and Andrea, some of the first people who created the garden, she couldn’t stay away. “We all gelled perfectly, and they saw that I knew what I was doing”, she adds.
Ava has passed her love for gardening down to her grandchildren. They visit the community garden with her and she teaches them how to take care of it.
Her grandchildren know the importance of garden eco-systems as Ava has taught them how the bees, ladybugs, and birds are all a part of the bigger garden community.
After the crops have been harvested, they walk around the neighborhood and offer them to those who live nearby. This is how they invite the community in to join them and take a part in helping in the garden. Lately, there’s been an increase in volunteers and garden members, but many people are still not aware of the garden’s existence.
“You’ve got vegetables right here, come and get them,” Ava says.
Currently, the garden is working on three new projects. They are planning on adding grape vines to the garden again and growing moringa trees to help replenish the soil. Another project they are developing involves adding murals to the garden.
By: Madeline Seiberlich
DeVaux explains that this will be a special way to invite residents in and show them all the garden is doing. They would also like to add a second solar panel, which is how they get the energy to run their watering system. The garden doesn’t use electricity and runs off of solar power.
Ava’s passion for the garden and community is evident in everything she does. When you meet her, you feel welcomed and sense that you’ve known her for years. As she continues to share her passion with others she says that she is, “loving every minute of it.”
By: Imani Craig, Yazlin Mercado, Mariya Lebedeva, Kay-Kay Smith and Arman Mouradian
“Sharing God’s Abundance with our neighbors,” is a sentiment Operation Attack carries out with their active community involvement.
Based out of Lakeview Presbyterian Church, volunteers strive to provide new and gently used clothing, including underwear and socks, to children from newborn to high school age. To serve the community of south St. Petersburg in the best way possible takes manpower. Operation Attack can only function and function well with the time and energy devoted to the volunteers.
Diane Klamer, a lead volunteer, has been attending Lakeview Presbyterian since the age of five.
“I love being able to help people when they need things. It is an important part of this church. I could become more involved now since I am retired,” Klamer says.
Operation Attack is a multi-congregational ministry located in south St. Petersburg under the stewardship of Lakeview Presbyterian Church. Given a referral from partnering organizations, families in need from south of Ulmerton can receive aid once every three months.’
If a family needs additional assistance beyond the clothing, such as housing, Operation Attack helps put them in contact with organizations that can provide the services they need.
Walking from the parking lot into the lounge of Operation Attack, visitors are welcomed with cheerful volunteers as they direct them where to go. Recipients go through a process where they are to provide volunteers with their referral prescribed to them by a local doctor or pastor.
Once that information is validated the last 4 digits of the applicant’s social security number is gathered solely for the purpose of keeping accountability of who has been served within a 3-month period.
Carts are provided to haul clothing around the center while applicants sort through the racks to pick clothing for their children. A washer and dryer are also available on site, provided by EBSCO appliances, to ensure cleanliness of the clothing.
If a family has a child under the age of 2, they are also provided with a layette filled with 10 items ranging from diapers, towels, clothing, socks, and even a toy for the toddler to play with. Clothing is also provided through donations to Operation Attack. Volunteers then sort through the clothes to size and ensure that what they are giving away is in good condition.
Located next door from the section of Operation Attack that holds clothes and essentials is the “Prep area”.
/Arman Mouradian
The room houses various food items, clothing, and books that are categorized and organized by the volunteers. Clothes are sized, tagged, and sent to the section next door to be given away. This is where volunteer Mary Turner spends most of her time.
Turner, 92, is seen putting together paper bags for the food bank that runs monthly out of Lakeview Presbyterian Church.
Volunteers joke about the longevity Turner has been with Operation Attack after her modest answer.
“I bet we could say you have been here 25 years. Tell them that. We have some lifelong people here,” Klamer says.
Operation Attack partners with the Neighborly Care Network to provide food to different areas once every three months.
Since her early start as a volunteer, after retiring from being an art teacher in 1988, Turner has witnessed the growth the organization has achieved. Robert Davis, 63, is an active member of the community of South St. Petersburg and works alongside Turner to pick up groceries used at the food bank.
“It’s beneficial for the children and it’s convenient since I’m only about a 3-minute walk,” Davis says on why he likes to help out with the organization.
The local is also able to provide an interpersonal outlook when engaging in conversation with Operation Attack participants.
Arman Mouradian
“Mary leaves her home, picks Robert up, then goes to pick up the food at the food bank which is now in Joes Creek, and they high tail it out there and then all this food is available to us for the food bank. Robert and Mary then make a decision on what we need. Robert puts the food in her car and when he gets here he takes it out of her car. Mary used to do it but then it got to be too much,” Klamer says.
According to the volunteers, donating food and clothing is essential in keeping Operation Attack afloat but with more members constantly coming in, and receiving referrals from other churches what they need is time.
“There is such a need for volunteers in this organization. A lot of other organizations already have a lot of volunteers. This organization does not, ” Klamer says.
The Environmental Protection Agency says that lead levels below the action level don’t require public action, but 45 homes in the St. Petersburg Midtown area tested positive for lead in the water.
Most of the homes that were tested contained very low traces. However, according to the EPA, any amount of lead is dangerous, especially for young children under the age of six.
A journalism class, the Neighborhood News Bureau (NNB), class from the University of South Florida St. Petersburg (USFSP) St. Petersburg worked with students at Academy Prep to conduct the testing in the fall of 2016. Each student took home vials to collect water with specific instructions based on a protocol developed by the same Virginia Technological University’s laboratory that tested the water of Flint, Michigan during the water crisis.
The analysis was conducted by Kelly Quinn, a research associate at the USF College of Marine Science. The chosen method was much more rigorous than St. Petersburg’s program, which tests 50 homes at random every three years based on a contested EPA protocol. St. Petersburg was one of the cities exposed by a report published by The Guardian on June 2, 2016 as one of the cities “cheating” on water testing protocols.
Academy Prep students visit the Oceonagraphic Recent Center in USF St. Petersburg to learn more about the process for water testing the samples they gathered in their homes. Neighborhood News Bureau.
Students at Academy Prep were asked to acquire three draws from their homes and their neighbors’. The first draw required the water to be unused for six to eight hours, which gives an accurate indication of how much lead accumulates in the water as it sits in the pipes. The other two draws measure lead levels after water has been flushed.
Kevin Riskowitz, the interim manager of the city’s environmental compliance division said that the city’s lead testing program only takes one draw. The EPA typically only tests water using the first draw as well.
The EPA says that concerned homeowners can test their own homes, which ranges from $20 to $100 in cost.
“As Midtown fits with the characteristics of most of the communities affected by lead poisoning in their tap water, I believe that it would be good to make sure children (and adults) were not in danger”, said Dr. Bernardo Motta, a USFSP assistant professor who initiated the collaboration between the Neighborhood News Bureau class and Academy Prep.
Sources of the toxic metal can be found in water that travels through lead pipes, which are common in old homes, and in pipes that contain parts made of or welded with lead, which can be found in homes built until 1986. The natural corrosion of these pipes compounds the issue. The result is water containing a trace amount of lead in consumable tap water.
To alleviate the problem, John Palenchar, the interim director of St. Petersburg’s Water Resources says that the city uses corrosion control. This method of water treatment creates calcium buildup in the pipes. Calcium helps to slow the corrosion process.
Palenchar attributed the problems in Flint, Michigan, to the lack of proper corrosion control.
In 1986 lead piping installation and repairs nationwide were banned under the amended Safe Drinking Water Act, but many homes in St. Petersburg still have old piping systems held together by lead solder.
Seven of the homes tested by Academy Prep students that came back above 1 part per billion were built before 1986.
At 2.1 parts per billion on average, the amount of lead found in St. Petersburg’s water supply is low. The EPA’s guidelines mandate that action is taken if levels are found to be above 15 parts per billion.
Even the house with the highest amount of lead in the water tested below the EPA’s action level with 13 parts per billion in the first draw.
Per EPA standards, the city must take action if five or more of its 50 samples come back above the action level of 15 parts per billion.
According to the EPA, in children, low levels of lead exposure are linked to damage to the nervous system. Symptoms and permanent health effects include learning disabilities, impaired hearing and impaired function of blood cells.
“It doesn’t matter what level is found on the sample tests, my main concern is always numbers,” said Cynthia Keeton, a lead poisoning prevention coordinator for the Florida Health Department in Hillsborough County.
Although blood lead concentrations below five micrograms aren’t recognized as threatening to the body, Keeton believes that such levels should be lowered to zero in all children’s cases.
The Academy of Pediatrics recently reported that cognitive deficits and behavioral problems can occur at blood lead concentrations below that level, making the case for preventive measures at home even more urgent.
“Food is the thing that gets the lead out of a child’s body. They need to eat rich foods in iron and calcium. You have to put that back in the body. There’s no quick fix unless this child’s blood lead level gets to be 45, they have to go to the hospital. Otherwise, a crucial diet is the solution,” Keeton explained.
Children enrolled in Medicaid receive a blood lead screening test at 12 and 24 months, and those who are between 3 and 6 years of age must also be tested if they haven’t before.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, blood tests that monitor for lead levels range from $10 to $75.
Young children, in many cases, tend to be picky eaters, which makes the absorption of lead higher, due to an empty stomach. Keeton details that in the end, her main responsibility is to educate parents as key players against lead poisoning, even if it’s challenging.
“You got to get parents to do their part. It takes a parent who has had a lead poisoned child, and knows what it does to the families, to take action sometimes,” she said.
The city’s Community Redevelopment Plan (CRA) currently offers funding programs to property owners who want to upgrade old plumbing systems. Only properties that are considered “affordable housing,” or where an income by a number of people living in the household is between $33,050 to $69,856, can qualify to receive the grant. According to the Funding program, the minimum investment must start at $10,000.
Based on data collected by Neighbourhood News Bureau student’s in 2016 and 2017 last year, many properties can be individually eligible for the grant. However, in order for seven house pipe systems, built before 1986, to be replaced, homeowners would have to invest in the project privately. To apply for the grant, homeowners need to have the full money for the job and then use the grant for reimbursement.
Moreover, replacement of corrosive pipelines may also be covered by an income-based mortgage loan through the city Housing and Community Development division, which has primarily worked on roof repairs, lead-based paint mitigation, and electrical hazards.
There are many options besides pipe repair and replacement to reduce the amount of lead found in water. For most homes with low-level lead-contaminated water, a filtered pitcher will suffice. According to the EPA, one of these simple pitchers costs about $20 but requires maintenance at various time intervals to ensure that the filter’s quality doesn’t degrade over time.
In October, Keeton visited A Perfect Start Early Learning Childcare Center located in Tampa, as part of the National Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Week program. Children between the ages of four and six asked her about the toxin, as she guided them through preventive steps to take in their homes and avoid consuming lead at all costs.
Although she’s currently the only staff member of the Childhood lead poisoning and healthy homes program visiting child care centers in Hillsborough County, and orienting children and parents about prevention methods, she explains she’s able to work efficiently because the County facilitates a lead poisoning screening map that identifies 25 zip codes across high-risk areas.
“Inner cities always have more lead because of the age of the houses. The zip codes tell me exactly where I need to be going. I target certain zip codes at certain times of the year too, like in the summer when children are more prone to be outside, they are very much exposed to lead”.
According to Hillsborough County’s Reportable Diseases Frequency Report, powered by the Florida Department, 79 cases of lead poisoning have been confirmed in 2018. Last year a total of 132 cases were reported, and four were identified in minors varying from newborns to four-year-olds.
Unlike the Hillsborough’s preventive program, the Florida Department of Health in Pinellas does not follow up with lead cases based on screening maps.
“For children normally pediatricians routinely screen for lead at their 12 and 20-month visit”, explained epidemiologist Rebecca Bohinc. According to Bohinc, who’s in charge of all reportable lead cases through the County’s Disease Control and Health Protection Division, even if a child lives in a high-risk area that isn’t monitored, pediatricians will normally conduct blood tests.
In Pinellas County, between 2017 and 2018, 23 cases have been confirmed and only two cases of lead poisoning have been traced back to newborns up to the age of four.
Keeton’s recent visits to the Tampa neighborhoods coincide with a recent amendment of the Lead-Safe Housing for Kids Act of 2017 (S.1854). The bill, which excludes lead found in tap water, aims to protect children living in federally assisted housing from lead-based poisoning.
The bipartisan bill, if passed, would require Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to ensure mandated risk assessments for lead-based hazards in low-income housing constructed prior to 1978 before a family moves in.
The Childcare Center on East 21st Ave is neighboring with older houses built pre 1978 that have lead-based paint, as Keeton explained. Three blocks south from the Center, two uninhabited houses showed noticeable paint chips and lead dust on their walls and railing.
“If I were to go up here and touch this area, that’s where the lead is. A family probably lived here, in this condition and moved recently”, she said referring to an uninhabited house on 14th Ave, just a few feet away from the highway traffic of I-4.
Pinellas County, however, has not been nearly as proactive as Hillsborough. Pinellas doesn’t have a counterpart for Keeton’s position or a process for mitigating lead poisoning that resembles Hillsborough’s current program.
Ryan Callihan and Evy Guerra contributed to this story.
SOUTH ST. PETERSBURG—The presence of Hurricane Irma was the cause of stress and panic leading up to its arrival, and the reason for frustration and relief after it left. For the schools stepping in as shelters, this was no different.
After tracking Hurricane Irma through various spaghetti models and varying paths, some schools in St. Petersburg had to prepare to not only close their doors to students during the storm’s arrival but to open them to evacuees as well.
Principal Nicole Wilson of Thurgood Marshall Fundamental and Principal Reuben Hepburn of Gibbs High School knew once Pinellas County Schools closed for students, their next step was to take the appropriate steps to anticipate becoming a shelter.
“I was still in ‘principal mode,’” said Principal Hepburn. “Here we are concerned about student achievement and moving student achievement forward so that our students can get the best possible education from Gibbs High School, and now we have to shift our thinking.”
Principal Hepburn and his administrator tracked the storm. Once the schools closed and the storm still projected to hit Florida, his conference room became “command central” for Gibbs High School’s transition into a shelter.
The whiteboard became an organized chart, Hepburn’s name at the top as EOC commander. People were assigned to their titles and roles.
“We’re going to be a shelter. Our community is going to be looking to us for refuge, a safe haven, to escape this devastating storm,” said Principle Hepburn.
As the storm grew closer and Principal Wilson monitored the storm and followed the district’s instructions on what steps to take to shift from school to shelter, she was hit with a twist.
“It was Friday that I got word that my school was not going to be a shelter because it was in a flood zone. I was being moved to Campbell Park Elementary to be Incident Commander at Campbell Park,” said Wilson. “I got that information Friday evening around 6:30 and that was kind of scary because I don’t know the school.”
Within an hour that evening, Principal Wilson met with Principal Young-Parker, of Campbell Park, to walk the campus for Wilson to come up with the best plan for her and her team on very short notice.
Less than 12 hours later, Campbell Park would open their doors at 6 a.m. to welcome those seeking refuge.
Principal Hepburn and his team opened doors Friday; same time but a day early.
Both principals and their teams organized and managed the crowds in their own ways while still achieving and possessing the same goal to get everyone in as quickly and safely as possible.
At Gibbs, “We had to create a system, almost at like a theme park, where they could form lines,” said Hepburn.
These lines then lead people to registration signs to inform them on which items the shelter allowed and where to go for registration.
The gymnasium and their media center were the two main areas where people would reside because they were convenient entry points.
Hepburn saw these two buildings’ accessibility important to keeping their system intact. Vehicles were able to drive up, load and unload passengers. Hepburn also made sure they had a ramp for those in wheelchairs.
People were also given wristbands in correlation with which tier they were assigned to. The gymnasium was Tier One and the media center were Tier Two.
To add to the impromptu stress at Campbell Park, Principal Wilson was assisted by Campbell Park’s assistant principal with maps of the school to figure out with which rooms would be best for people to stay in since their principal, Young-Parker, has only been at the school since August.
In addition, Principal Wilson points out how delegating roles to her team in a school she was not familiar with was slightly daunting.
“The team that I had that was going to work under me were not my staff employees here on campus,” says Principal Wilson.
Her team was made up of principals and assistant principals from various schools. The only person she worked with on a daily basis was her assistant principal at Thurgood Marshall Elementary.
“I had to assign tasks and responsibilities, like registration, safety, supervision, security,” said Wilson. “Those are things I just had to assign to people without even really knowing them.”
Once they were registered, people were then organized into different sections: single males, single females without children, families, elderly and special needs.
The staff at both locations had their own sections as well.
Since Principal Wilson had to relocate, she and her cafeteria manager had to bring their food and supplies from Thurgood Marshall over to Campbell Park to feed the guests.
Some of the meals had to be served cold at Campbell Park because about an hour into the storm, they lost power. The backup generators they had only kept the lights on.
“For the most part, we tried to give them a heated meal when we could,” says Principal Wilson.
Campbell Park housed about 730 people and Gibbs housed about 1,300, both hitting capacity.
For security, the St. Petersburg Police Department was a presence on both campuses. EMS was also on the scene if anyone needed medical attention. Within the first hour of the storm, Campbell Park Elementary lost power. Gibbs, however, never lost their power.
Despite the panic and stress, both principals see a glimmer of a hope to the experience.
Both responded positively to the overall experience. They didn’t mention having any issues they could not handle.
Principal Hepburn read thankful emails from those who stayed with him in their time of fear and panic, complimenting Hepburn and his steam on their hospitality.
They also gave their teams high praise.
“I worked with a dynamic team. …Phenomenal assistant principals and principals that just stepped up,” said Principal Wilson.
“When you have a collaborative effort of minds that think alike and we’re all trying to achieve the same goal, you get the best result,” said Hepburn.
On a typical day at the Chattaway, Jillian Frers and Amanda Kitto open their doors at 11 a.m. to prepare for the lunch rush. They set the tables with pink pastel table clothes, stocked the bar and brewed iconic British tea. September 7th was no ordinary day, instead they had to prepare to lose a business that’s been in their family since the 1920’s.
With Hurricane Irma approaching, the owners of the Chattaway wanted to help the community as much as they could.
“I feel like the Chattaway brings the community together. We have millionaires on one side of the building, then you have poverty on the other side. We wanted to act as a community center,” Kitto said.
Without any power outages at the Chattaway, Frers, and Kitto were able to open the doors for those in need. In preparation for the storm, they gave ice to employees and neighbors when other stores were sold out. While Irma approached the Tampa Bay area, people came in to charge their devices and use a spare fridge and freezer space. After the storm, the Chattaway became a safe place for residents to recover. For example, one local man was able to plug in his nebulizer because he had no power and nowhere else to go.
Once it was clear that St. Petersburg was going to experience hurricane force winds, Kitto cut back on purchasing perishable supplies during the time they would be closed.
The Chattaway closed the Thursday before the storm hit and remained closed for a total of four days. This added to the financial burden. Kitto said they were very concerned about their employees’ safety.
Companies like SYSCO and Coke were very accommodating to the Chattaway, said Kitto; the companies were willing to take back any product, beer, or wine that couldn’t be used while they were temporarily shut down.
“We were happy about this because we would have lost a significant amount of money,” Frers said.
For small businesses, products going to waste can create a heavy financial burden.
“Because September is already a slow month for us, like most restaurants, you are already low on money, so you can’t financially prepare for a hurricane as much as you would a different month,” Frers said.
Frers and Kitto preparedfor days as weather forecasts projected the eye of the storm to pass over the Tampa Bay area. To stay up-to-date on the path of the hurricane, Kitto said she watched the news every chance she could.
“As [Floridians], we try not to panic. We know the two things we need to be concerned about are the floods and the winds,” Kitto said.
Kitto along with her family, the bartender, and the musician stayed after closing to help take everything off the shelves and put away patio decorations, furniture, and equipment to prepare for flooding and severe winds.
“I can’t open up the restaurant and expect my workers to work. I wanted what was best for them and their safety. I know many of our employees work paycheck to paycheck, so I paid them for the time they would have worked,” Kitto said.
Being in evacuation zone A, the area with the highest potential flood damage, Kitto, and her family decided it was best not to risk it, and fled to Atlanta, Georgia. When they returned, Kitto and Frers said they were shocked to find out the Chattaway never lost power, pointing out that the rubber ducks sitting in the bathtub on their outdoor patio had not even moved during the storm.
With storm footage flooding every news station weeks ahead of impact, employees were able to determine potential evacuation plans. This gave ample time for Kitto to have a sense of when they would be able to open back up, never losing power also sped up the process. The Chattaway reopened its doors Tuesday, Sept. 12 to a full house in need of power and a hot meal.
When asked what they wish the city would have done differently for their small business, they didn’t have much to say.
Kitto expressed discontent with Duke Energy.
“I think Duke [Energy] should have kept everyone updated more. I was okay with not having power, I just felt like no one had any idea what was going on,” Kitto said.
The city never reached out to them to see if they needed any sort of help. Kitto said the health inspectors were the only ones who came around to ensure the quality of their food hadn’t gone bad.
Despite being built nearly a century ago, the Chattaway has withstood every natural disaster in its path. With a category 5 hurricane in its path, Frers and Kitto remain concerned for their small business that wasn’t fully covered by flood insurance.
“I’m 85 years old, we’ll see how this one goes,” Frers said.
Although meteorologists may be able to track the storm, it is almost impossible to know exactly how and when it will hit, while still having time to evacuate and prepare.
A category 5 hurricane would devastate the Tampa Bay area, it is important to be aware of government assistance programs as well as how to file claims with your insurance company, as a precaution. Please see below for more information:
At the St. Pete Culinary Center, Chef Patrick “PT” Collins was the guest chef at their BBQ cooking class. Chef Collins is an entrepreneur and owner of Deuces BBQ in Midtown, St. Petersburg. As guest chef, he taught the students the importance of cooking as a trade as well as the art of cooking of BBQ. The program is designed to help at-risk youths learn a trade that is in demand as well as assist them in finding a job in the culinary industry. The video covers Chef Collins class as he taught the youths to cook BBQ.
ST. PETERSBURG – With museums, music, murals and more, the city of St. Petersburg’s thriving arts scene offers tourists and locals alike a place to escape, enjoy and find inspiration. For Cranstan Cumberbatch, who serves as co-producer, co-writer, co-director and actor in the new film “Art in the City,” St. Petersburg is also home.
Eritha “Akile” Cainion, running for City Council 6, and Jesse Nevel, for Mayor, addressed the Tropicana Field’s future and housing issues during a rally held on April 9, 2017, at the St. Petersburg Uhuru House.
Eritha “Akile” Cainion, a 20-year-old activist who works as a cashier at a local shoe store, launched her campaign for St. Pete City Council’s District 6 seat on March 6 in front of the recently shuttered Midtown Walmart Neighborhood Market.
Jesse Nevel, the national chair of the Uhuru Solidarity Movement — a group of white activists that supports the efforts of the African People’s Socialist Party (a.k.a. the Uhurus) — entered the race for mayor, on March 8, 2017, standing in front of Tropicana Field.
The non-profit organization, Mercy Keepers Inc., located right across from Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church on 9th Avenue South, has been providing food and clothing items to members of Pinellas County since its establishment in 2005. Individuals with low-income, as well as other financial or household difficulties can stop by every Tuesday or Thursday of the week, from 10 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. and pick up a meal consisting of a basic nutritional menu.
Giving back
A volunteer pushes a cart with corn filled boxes, a staple produce of the organization. In partnership with Feed America, they are able to offer each person who registers a donation package. Other foods include dried tomatoes, lettuce, potatoes, bread, and a variety of canned goods.
Food for days
“Some days you don’t see a lot of people come by, but then by word of mouth from someone who got their package, we’ll have others floating in you know, by word of mouth. ‘Hey, they have milk today at the Pantry.’ Whatever we have, if they register, they get it”, expressed H. Hall, who volunteers as secretary of the Board of Members since 2013.
Uhuru Food and Pies was one of Saturday Morning Market goers’ favorite spots during the marketing with an average of 5-6 people waiting in line throughout the market’s duration. Uhuru, located at 1245 18th Ave South is one of few vendors at the Saturday Morning Market with a home base in Midtown.
Pictured is Kunde Mwamuita preparing a quesadilla for their lunch special. Uhuru Food and Pies is a branch of the Uhuru Movement started by Omali Yeshitela (Joseph Waller) who was best known for destructing a racist mural in St. Petersburg City Hall in 1966.
