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RCS Food Bank is hungry for your help. The shelves are bare while demand is at an all-time high. A food drive is scheduled for 8 a.m.-noon Saturday, Aug. 30 at the food bank's Clearwater location, 700 Druid Road.

The RCS Food Bank has seen a 100% increase over last year in the number of people needing emergency food assistance. As many as 600 people are assisted each day.

The RCS Food Bank, the largest distributor of food in Pinellas County, is on track to provide more than $2.1 million in food assistance to families in need this year. With the increase in demand, the food bank has little or no food on its shelves to help those in need.

On August 30, donors can drive by the RCS Food Bank to deliver food to help those in need. To make a financial contribution, call 727-443-4031.

Businesses and civic organizations are encouraged to get a barrel from the RCS Food Bank to host a drive. Pickups and other transportation can be arranged.

RCS Food Bank is the largest distributor of food to those in need in Pinellas County and has been serving the county for more than 25 years. It provides supplemental groceries to more than 5,000 individuals monthly at its distribution warehouse. The majority of those benefiting are children.

RCS Food Bank also distributes food to 64 sub-sites throughout Pinellas County to ensure that food is accessible to those in need, while maintaining administrative cost below 10%.

For more information, call 727-584-3528, ext. 6 or visit www.RCSpinelllas.org.

The Pinellas County Jewish Day School, located at 1775 South Highland Avenue in Clearwater will be the site of a ribbon cutting and expansion celebration. The festivities are scheduled for 7-9 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 18.

The purpose of the program is to introduce the public to the completion of Phase I of the capital campaign which includes the addition of four new classrooms. Highlights of the evening will include a Power Point presentation about the history of the school, as well as frequently asked questions, donor recognition, alumni testimonials, and a performance by the Pinellas County Jewish Day School chorus. School tours will be offered throughout the evening, and light refreshments will be served.

Reservations are requested by Saturday, Sept. 13.

For more information regarding the Pinellas County Jewish Day School, call 727-588-0100 or visit the school’s website: www.pcjds.org .

An internet program for contractors and potential bidders on City of Clearwater projects is now available at www.MyClearwater.com. It provides electronic access to construction plans from the comfort of one’s computer. “Plan Room,” or the Plan Command Construction Document Program, allows users to purchase sets of plans to review (and bid on, if pre-qualified) for city projects accepting bids. The program is user-friendly and convenient and is one more way the city is using the Internet for e-business.

Bid instructions, bid details, PDF files of construction drawings and technical specifications for each project are provided. To access the program, users should go to www.MyClearwater.com. The program can be accessed through multiple links. Go to “Quick Links” and select “Invitation to Bid” from the pull-down menu, or click on “Latest Information” on the homepage and look for “Invitation to Bid” under “City Projects.” All posted projects appear under “Engineering Projects Ready to Bid.”

If a user wants to bid on a specific city project, he or she can order a complete set of plans using this program. It displays the number of pages and technical specification sections that are included, as well as an estimated cost. Plans are printed by Jiffy Reprographics, a private reprographics firm. Payments are made to Jiffy Reprographics, and plans are usually shipped the same day as ordered.

In the past, a complete set of plans for a project, such as Beach Walk, could cost around $200. When advertising a project for bid, the City purchased a certain number of plan sets to make them available to potential bidders. If few contractors placed bids, money was wasted on printed plans that were not needed. This no longer happens with the “Plan Room” program in place.

“The ‘Plan Room’ program streamlined our plan availability processes to make it easier for contractors and vendors to bid on city projects,” said Tom Mahony, Geographic Technology Manager of Engineering. “It’s more convenient for contractors and saves the city money at the same time.”

Anyone can obtain plans and specifications for open projects, but only pre-qualified contractors can submit formal bids. For more information about this program or engineering projects, visit www.MyClearwater.com or call 727-562-4750.