Hundreds of people crowded a two-day free clinic in Butler on Saturday and Sunday as churches in the city reported a spike in the number of free meals served as the needy struggled with utility bills and the suspension of food stamps.

By Sunday morning, the clinic at the Butler Intermediate High School had drawn 345 people for vision, dental and medical screening. The clinic was run by the Remote Area Medical Volunteer Corps, a Rockford, Tenn.-based nonprofit that conducts about 70 pop-up clinics around the country each year.

Remote Area Medical was founded in 1985 by British philanthropist Stan Brock.

Butler Area School District, Salvation Army and Cabot-based Concordia Lutheran Ministries were among the local community sponsors of the free clinic. Some 200 volunteers turned out each d

See Full Page