The Soup Kitchen Initiative

 

Avon Park's Southside Redevelopment Area, located in Highlands County, Florida is unique place.  Once the Pride of Avon, which was a location with flourishing businesses, it is now a place where businesses are struggling to survive.  The transformation is due to demographic changes.  In the past the SRA was supported by its Agricultural Workers, who were the neighbors of the community.  But today many of these jobs have gone to migrant workers, leaving the community with a higher unemployment rate.  And I am talking about the real unemployment rate, which is the jobless and not those on unemployment, but without an income.

 

Not being aware of the demographic changes that was to occur and the Real Estate crash that happened all over the State of Florida, the SRA did not adjust to the anticipated changes in clientele.  Because in the past, the clientele was based on a "work hard play hard" spending practice and mentality and the SRA also known as "the Delaney Stripe,"  was a place of continuous parties, with bars and restaurants side by side.  However, today there is not enough clientele to support these types of businesses, because the community is no longer being supported by an agricultural workforce.  That money goes to Main Street.

 

As a result properties got old and some were condemned, leaving liens on the property owners, creating an atmosphere due to Red Lining, whereby there was is not enough investment capital or credit lines to replenish to SRA to be able to target a new customer base of everyday shoppers of consumer goods.  The SRA fell behind and is finding it difficult to get back up.

 

We at the National Community Network and Coalition of Highlands, INC, believe there can still be a future and hope for the SRA of Avon Park, but a different one.  The days of wall to wall "Jug joints," on the "Delaney Stripe," is a thing of the past and with the influx of migrant workers our neighbors have to find another way to survive.  We at the NCNCHINC believe we have to educate our community to be able to endure in this new economy in Highlands County, because without education there is no hope for change. 

 

But we at the NCNCHINC realize people must eat in order to learn and we live in country whereby 1 in 7 people, we are talking about 43 million Americans are on food stamps and cannot feed themselves.  However, in the SRA it is more like 2 out of 3 depend on food stamps and many are without any income.  Why? Because the people cannot adapt to the new economy which depends on education as a prerequisite to survive.  The dropout rate is enormously high.  And it is not all our fault, because for generations after generations picking fruit fed us, but no more.  Avon Park High School, is one of the worst performing high schools in the United States, because the education system here was designed to create fruit pickers. Now we have to compete with the migrant workers in the fields, who are hungrier and even poorer and the more educated at the retail stores and fast food restaurants, not to mention government jobs, professional services and hospitals.  We fell behind, because the system did not offer or address to coming changes to our neighbors.

 

For this reason we are compelled to open a soup kitchen in the SRA, not as an end but as a means of turning this scenario around.  By feeding the hungry, we will be able to advance other innovations and initiatives that will allow the falling in the economic crisis to get up and be independent once again here in the SRA.  Let it be known that here in the SRA, we are in a depression, the state of community is in despair.  But through community work can we turn this around.  Please support the Soup Kitchen Initiative and leave no one behind.  Feed the hungry!

 

 

Frank Paul Jones

President and Chairman of the Board

The NCNCHINC "Building a Better Community."