ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A St. Petersburg church still rebuilding from the 2024 hurricanes will host a free public meal to commemorate the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Helene and support residents still recovering from the storms.

“I would love to see this community come out in force and hear these people’s voices,” said Janice Roth, Gathering Church Business Administrator. “See the suffering that still goes on.”

The Gathering Church, a Presbyterian church in the Shore Acres neighborhood, has been hosting monthly meals for hurricane-affected residents through its “Food is Love” program. The church began feeding affected residents last year over a 10-week period, serving meals every Wednesday. The program resumed this past May with monthly meals that have drawn up to 120 people, according to Roth.

“We have senior citizens that can’t really cook or they don’t have their kitchens restored yet. So, this really helps,” she said. “We always try to make something that can be microwaved easily. We provide them with to-go containers so that they have the food.”

Pastor Eneyas Freitas said the church can relate to residents who are still working to rebuild their lives after the storms. That’s because Helene flooded the church office area along with the sanctuary where carpet, drywall, and wooden pews are still missing.

“We didn’t have flood insurance and the church never flooded (before),” Freitas said. “Actually, we used to be a place here where the neighbors used to come to our parking lot to get away from the flooding.”

A couple of weeks after Helene, Hurricane Milton damaged the church’s roof, causing leaks in the worship area. Freitas said he hopes the church can hold services again in the sanctuary within the next 18 months.

“If everything works out in about a year or a year and a half, we’re able to be back here worshiping in this space,” he said. “We are here not to be dwelling in the whatever happened, but to say we’re in this together.”

Pastor Freitas said that despite the damage, the church never closed its doors after the storms and has been holding services in the upstairs theater room.

“We’re here to be with the community and also to be a way for us to be supporting each other emotionally,” he said. “There’s no better way sometimes than breaking bread together.”

Jaclyn Ramos, who does not live in Shore Acres or attend the church, said she and her family have been going to the monthly meals.

“I saw just this welcoming invitation open to all in the community,” Ramos said. “A hot dinner for the whole family. So I was like, we are going to that. I have five children, a lot of mouths to feed, a lot of plates to clean.”

Ramos said she plans to attend the Helene anniversary meal as well. Roth said she has seen the “huge impact” the meals have on families still dealing with the effects of the storms.

“We also encourage them, please take as much as your family can use. That’s why we’re doing this,” she said. “We’re trying to take the burden off of these people, even if it’s just for a meal or two.”

The anniversary meal will be held on Sept. 23 at 6 p.m. at the church located at 4400 Shore Acres Blvd. N.E. in St. Petersburg. Helene’s actual two-year anniversary is one day later, Sept. 24.

Freitas said the church recently received its first FEMA check for contents and a long-awaited permit from the city to rebuild the office area. The pastor said he hopes to receive another FEMA check for the structure and estimates rebuilding could cost up to $800,000.

“It’s not because we have it all together that we are able to help, but because we struggle and we’re able to share the same feeling, the same situation with people who are struggling as well,” Freitas said.