In the United States, there are 771,000 homeless people. In Hillsborough County alone, 1,893 people are currently homeless. However, Luann Leahy, Jim Courtney and Joan Courtney have been helping with the homeless crisis for almost 20 years within the Brandon area, by making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
In 2005, Leahy knew she wanted to help people but didn’t know where to start. She had heard of a group in Seffner at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church that handed out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to the homeless. Leahy decided she wanted to do that for the local community. She organized a peanut butter and jelly drive, entitled Peanut Butter and Jelly Ministries (PB&J Ministries), with Nativity Catholic Church. In the beginning, there were only a handful of volunteers who came and helped make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. But PB&J Ministries was able to turn out 60 sandwiches a month.
After some time, PB&J Ministries began to make and give out 8,000 to 12,000 sandwiches a month. As of December 2024, 1,000,200 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches have been made and distributed. Currently, the ministry distributes these sandwiches to 13 ministries throughout Hillsborough County.
Every other Friday, from 8-11 a.m., anywhere between 75-100 volunteers gather at the Nativity Catholic Church social hall to make peanut butter sandwiches. There is also a drive-by volunteer option where supplies can be collected from the church, brought home to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and then returned to the church for distribution.
PB&J Ministries also gives out goody bags three times a year. For summer, it distributes backpacks and school supplies. For Christmas, it distributes Santa stockings and toys. For Easter, it distributes socks, bug repellant, pop-top canned food and Easter baskets for the children.
PB&J Ministries is always looking for volunteers to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. But it also accepts gently used items at the church and monetary donations to gather supplies. High school kids are also able to use time volunteering with this ministry for service hours.
For more information, visit PB&J Ministry’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/peanutbutterandjellyministry or stop by Nativity Catholic Church, located at 705 E. Brandon Blvd. in Brandon, off State Road 60, to volunteer in the social hall.
