PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — A local food bank that feeds hundreds of people in the St. Petersburg area is at risk of shutting down in the new year.
"I don't sleep at night because I worry about the families if I shut down," said Joanne Braccio, owner of Love Thy Neighbor Community Market.
Joanne Braccio loves her community.
"I have people that come here all the time saying, 'I don't know what I would do without you,'" said Braccio.
She opened the Love Thy Neighbor Community Market a year and a half ago.
It allows people in need to get food for free.
"They know that as long as I'm here, they won't have to worry about being hungry," said Braccio.
But soon, her beloved food bank could shut down.
The owner of a restaurant called The Pesky Pelican allowed Braccio to open her food bank right next door and use the location for free.
Now, the restaurant is closing down, and Braccio can't afford the rent of her market.
"Now I'm stuck with the decision of whether I should stay open or not and how I'm going to afford to stay open," said Braccio.
Organization leaders say hunger is a year-round problem, and if the market does shut its doors, 500 more people could struggle to find food.
April Hush works with the food market and says it's a big problem as the homeless population continues to grow in the Tampa Bay area.
"The property rates, the rent rate going up has created more homeless in the area," said Hush.
"Groceries are so expensive right now. You go buy a couple things and it's $100. It's just the world that we live in. It's gotten more expensive," said Braccio.
Braccio is now fundraising to keep her food market open and to continue helping those she calls family.
"Families would definitely struggle to meet nutritional needs," said Hush.
"I know that I have 500 families counting on me, and I just can't turn my back on them," said Braccio.
