Local food pantry expanding to new, larger location

Joanne Braccio once went to restaurants and supermarkets to try to see if she could take any extras home to feed her children. She knows firsthand what it’s like to have limited resources. 

In 2022, she created the Love Thy Neighbor Community Market to serve the west St. Petersburg area. Currently, it is located in a 500-square-foot space in a retail strip center on 913 72nd Street N.  

In November, Braccio is relocating the food pantry to a new, 1,600-square-foot unit at 7110 5th Avenue N., just a few minutes away from its original location (this was to ensure current clients can still have access to the market, she explained).  

Additionally, the larger footprint is due to demand. Approximately 2,000 residents utilize the service every month, Braccio added. 

In July, Braccio was one of six recipients to receive life insurance organization Royal Neighbors of America’s Nation of Neighbors empowerment award – which included a $10,000 grant for Love Thy Neighbor.  

Braccio originally founded the nonprofit in 2005. It started with free cleaning services for cancer patients and individuals with severe illnesses. It now additionally serves veterans, women in domestic abuse situations and others facing serious hardships.  

Love Thy Neighbor was a way to give back after losing her brother to a cancer battle, she explained. 

“In his last days of being in hospice, everyone was coming over and leaving a mess and dirtying the bathroom, so I thought ‘why don’t I clean for cancer patients because they need to keep their houses clean, especially during chemotherapy treatments.’” 

A professional cleaner by trade, Braccio is also the founder of a for-profit business, Maid to Order FL Inc. 

As Braccio began to provide complimentary cleaning services for illness-stricken community members, she also started to collect food for them as well. Many could not work any more and struggled to pay their bills. 

Braccio would store the items at a local church – and homeless individuals began to take notice. Since Braccio had enough supplies, she would offer food to them too. 

Dan Pemberton, the owner of the now-closed Pesky Pelican Brew Pub in the 72nd Street N. strip mall, used an extra unit in the center during the Covid-19 pandemic as a food market.  

In 2022, he offered it to Braccio so that she could open up a food pantry. For over a year, Pemberton even paid the rent and utilities for the unit. Eventually, he fell on hard financial times and could not support Braccio’s nonprofit anymore after January 2024. 

“I had a month to figure out what to do,” Braccio explained. This led her to use personal funds to help keep the pantry open. Additionally, she received Royal Neighbors of America and General Federation of Women’s Clubs grants.  

Braccio eventually decided to rent another unit (300 square feet) in the same strip mall. What was Pemberton’s office became the Love & Hope Thrift Store in June 2024, to fund the market. 

However, the current spaces for the store and pantry are too small, Braccio said. The new unit is large enough to accommodate both. A wall will divide them. 

“The fact that I can have more stuff here is going to help us make more money,” she said. “That’s the key thing. If I can’t raise the money, I can’t stay in the spot.” 

Braccio is hosting a yard sale Oct. 18 at the parking lot at her Maid to Order FL company (3880 5th Avenue N.) to help with moving expenses. 

Love Thy Neighbor website