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Florida Matters Preview: Food Insecurity Town Hall

Stephanie Colombini
/
WUSF Public Media
Panelists from Florida Matters' town hall on food insecurity in Polk County. Patty Strickland (l), Steve Turbeville, Whitney Fung and host Robin Sussingham.

Polk County is consistently ranked as having among the highest rates of suburban poverty in the country. And one recent study put it second in the nation for the number of people struggling to avoid hunger. The beautiful lakes and historic downtowns form a stark contrast to the sobering statistics.

Florida Matters hosted a town hall discussion on these issues Monday night in Lakeland, at Florida Southern College’s Annie Pfeiffer Chapel.

This week on Florida Matters we’ll hear excerpts from that event.

In this preview, Florida Matters host and Polk native Robin Sussingham speaks with Steve Turbeville, President and CEO of Lighthouse Ministries, and Patty Strickland, Executive Director of KidsPACK, about what might be causing the food insecurity problem.

I cover health care for WUSF and the statewide journalism collaborative Health News Florida. I’m passionate about highlighting community efforts to improve the quality of care in our state and make it more accessible to all Floridians. I’m also committed to holding those in power accountable when they fail to prioritize the health needs of the people they serve.
Robin Sussingham was Senior Editor at WUSF until September 2020.
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