Westside Pensacola Butcher Shop Feeds Hundreds of Children Daily

Escambia County, FL (Newsradio 92.3) -- A Westside Pensacola butcher shop is feeding up to 400 children a day through a free lunch program that started with a dream.

Christy Costello, co-owner of Costello's Butcher Shop and Deli at 8190 West Fairfield Drive, says she woke up at 3:30 in the morning on March 15, 2020, with a vision to feed children on the west side of town.

"The west side has a big need and they're kind of forgotten about over there," Costello said. "So that morning we woke up and we started our free lunch program where I feed every child that comes through our doors."

What started with 10 to 15 children a day has grown to 300 to 400 daily, and up to 550 on Wednesdays when Costello also provides 155 meals through the Salvation Army. Each child receives a bag with breakfast, lunch, and dinner items including cereal, fruit, a snack, juice, their choice of a corndog or pizza, ice cream, and milk.

Any school-age child can receive a meal with no paperwork or ID required. The program is funded through shop profits and donations.

The effort operates under the Kimberly Tower Foundation, a 501c3 named for Costello's late mother, who reconciled with her daughter and was baptized before dying of pancreatic cancer in 2021.

Costello hopes to build a community center next to the shop with a commissary kitchen and after-school space for children.

Volunteers can call 850-741-2823. Donations can be made at ktf4love.org.