The federal shutdown is over, but food banks are still flooded with people needing a boost this holiday season. Metropolitan Ministries, for example, is supplying three times as many households as usual. We learn why and how to help on “Florida Matters Live & Local.”
Then, we dive into an increase in manatee deaths amid a struggle to find seagrass. There’s a program out of Sarasota showing families how to break bread without breaking relationships. The founder fills us in.
Finally, looking for something different this holiday season? It turns out Tampa Bay has events for everyone. Our guest has a hundred ideas.
Florida families face food shortages
(0:00) Count your blessings if your Thanksgiving table looked straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting — perfect, warm and full. For thousands of Florida families, though, the reality is very different. Metropolitan Ministries reports a nearly 300% spike in food requests over the past month — about 3,000 households. Why the surge? Can the nonprofit keep up? And how can you help?
GUEST:
- Christine Long, Metropolitan Ministries chief programming officer
Manatees in peril
(12:00) They’re Florida icons, but their numbers are under threat. From red tide and cold stress to shrinking seagrass and propeller injuries, 2025 has already seen hundreds of deaths. A climate journalist helps us explore the struggle to protect these beloved sea cows and what it would mean if they vanished.
GUEST:
- Amy Green, journalist with Inside Climate News
When politics is on the plate
(21:00) Holidays bring family and friends together — and sometimes that includes flinging some political football at the dinner table. But dinner doesn’t have to end with potatoes as projectiles. An expert on “conversations across the aisle” tells us how to turn potential feuds into civil dialogue.
GUEST:
- Bill Woodson, founder of Conversations Across the Aisle
There's snow place like home
(35:57) The area has plenty to keep you moving during the holidays. Ice skating, boat parades, tree lightings. Maybe even a dusting of snow in 80 degrees. The author of “100 Things to Do in Tampa Bay Before You Die,” highlights ways to get figgy with it without leaving town.
GUEST:
- Kristen Hare, Poynter Institute
