The Brief
- Love Thy Neighbor’s founder says the food pantry and thrift shop serve about 2,000 every two weeks.
- The food pantry is 500 square feet and the thrift shop is 300 square feet.
- The new space is 1,600 square feet and will be able to help twice as many people.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla – Joanne Braccio says helping those in need, like she once was, is personal.
“I went nights, to Pizza Hut to see if they had pizzas that they were going to throw away so I could feed my kids,” she said. “If I can just help one family a day, not only am I changing their life, it’s going to change my life because this is what I do.”
The founder of the St. Pete nonprofit Love Thy neighbor is expanding her food pantry and thrift shop, Love and Hope Thrift store, due to demand.
“We serve normally about 1,000 people, but it has doubled,” Braccio said.…