ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Bridge of Hope Kitchen is a new soup kitchen now open in St. Petersburg to help serve the homeless and food-insecure families. 

During the first week of school in Pinellas County, 600 children were identified as transient or homeless, according to the school board. 

The Bridge of Hope Kitchen is the brainchild of Pastor Deborah Hill who says she wants to end childhood hunger.

"It has been three years in the making from the time the vision was given and birthed inside of me," said Hill. 

Bridge of Hope is a place where students can do their homework and get a hot meal three times a week. 

According to the Pinellas County School Board, last year more than 4,500 students were homeless. 

"We have found ourselves in a very dire situation and our children need our help," she said.

"It didn't resonate with me until I got older," she recalls. "I remember my mother, that was something she always instilled in us: if you have a piece of bread everyone should have a piece of bread. " 

Hill says no child should ever wonder where their next meal is coming from. She says proper nutrition and getting the best education go hand in hand. 

"It feels so good to be able to be put in a position to have an impact on our next generation to help make a difference and to bring hope to change the life of a child," she said.

Her nonprofit is now lending a hand to families that have been hit hard by inflation and a pandemic — one meal at a time. 

The kitchen is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at 1178 62nd Avenue South, St. Petersburg.