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Before the pandemic, The Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida was spending almost $40,000 dollars a month to buy food. That jumped to $1.4 million a month during the first year of the pandemic, and has remained high ever since. According to their president & CEO, Richard LeBer, they’re currently having to spend almost a million dollars a month to provide food to those in need. Add the challenges and increased need brought about by Hurricane Ian, and the coming summer months when kids are out of school and seasonal workers have less income, and it’s easy to see how hard the staff and volunteers at the Harry Chapin Food Bank must be working to continue meeting the demand for food across this region.

There was an effort to get an amendment to Florida's constitution onto the 2024 ballot that would have assured citizens a right to clean water but its organizers fell short of the required signatures. But FloridaRightToCleanWater.org is not giving up, and has already launched an effort to get a similar amendment onto the ballot for the 2026 election. If passed, the new proposed amendment titled “Right to Clean and Healthy Waters” would create a fundamental right to clean and healthy waters in Florida. And it would allow citizens to sue state agencies for equitable relief when an agency, by action or inaction, allows harm or threat of harm to Florida waters. We learn more about the amendment and what exactly it would do, and the issues it aims to address when it comes to regulatory agencies not doing enough to protect the environment.

"Veto! Veto! Veto!" A group of about two dozen protesters chanted in front of the Tri-Rail station in Hollywood Tuesday. Together, they represented a...

The number of pelicans and other shorebirds with hooks in their pouches or stomachs, or fishing line wrapped tight around their legs or beaks dropped by 58 percent across the region after Hurricane Ian in 2022.

Estas son las noticias de esta semana: un beneficio federal de almuerzo gratuito ya no estará disponible el próximo año escolar, la Línea Nacional de Prevención del Suicidio tiene un nuevo código de marcación, y la junta escolar del condado de Collier revisará objeciones sobre los materiales de instrucción en una reunión especial.

The nonprofit Guardian ad Litem Foundation for the 20th Judicial Circuit has been supporting court appointed volunteers, and the children they’re working with, since 1983. And now, it’s expanding its focus to serve a broader group of children and teens in Southwest Florida and has changed its name to A.N.A.’s Friends. The acronym represents the Abused, Neglected, and Abandoned youth they help support. They support children who need help in a wide variety of ways that goes far beyond just helping them in the courtroom.

While it might be easy to say that we should all be more compassionate and kind, and have empathy for everyone around us, it’s usually not something that comes easily or naturally for most of us, and can even be seen as a sign of weakness in our highly competitive culture. As we start another year, we’re having a conversation about the importance of compassion, kindness, and empathy through the lens of Florida Gulf Coast University’s Roots of Compassion and Kindness (ROCK) Center. It's dedicated to teaching college students about compassion, using insights from psychologists, philosophers, neuroscientists, and scholars from across disciplines. We're joined by its Director and two of its faculty members.

Every year hundreds of thousands of students in dozens of countries act as delegates in a simulation of the United Nations. The 33rd annual Southwest Florida Model UN was held on the campus of Florida Gulf Coast University last week. This year’s keynote speaker was Andrea Bedoya. She’s a 2020 graduate of Florida Gulf Coast University, and since leaving FGCU with her Political Science degree her career has already spanned four continents and a wide range of global service experiences. She stopped by the studio while she was back on campus to chat.

State Health officials reported 2,355 new COVID-19 cases, Wednesday, increasing Florida's total to 671,201 cases. The Florida Department of Health also reported 152 new coronavirus-related deaths, Sept. 16, bringing the statewide death toll to 13,100 fatalities.

State health officials reported 8,109 new cases of COVID-19, Wednesday, increasing the statewide total to 545,901 cases. Aug. 12 marked the 17th consecutive day, health officials have reported fewer than 10,000 new cases in a day.The Florida Department of Health also reported 212 new coronavirus-related deaths, Wednesday, bringing the statewide death toll to 8,898 fatalities. Tuesday marked Florida’s single-day record high of 276 deaths.