Rent-to-own News

Rent-to-own News - RNR continues to help feed hungry in Tampa

May 29, 2009

Members of Grace Family Church serve meals in their outdoor soup kitchen set up in the parking lot of an RNR Custom Wheels & Performance Tire’s store in Tampa, Fla.

RNR Custom Wheels & Performance Tire’s store on East Fletcher Avenue in Tampa, Florida, has been drawing a crowd of hundreds of people every Monday and Tuesday for the last nine months.

However the people that crowd the lot those evenings aren't there as customers to do business with RNR owner Larry Sutton's company, they are there for the Grace Family Church soup kitchen, which has used RNR’s parking lot two days a week since September to serve hot food and drinks to area community members in need.

Sutton recently told TireBusiness.com the idea was his son, Adam's.

Adam is a member of the Grace Family Church and suggested allowing the church to use the parking lot after it had been kicked out of its previous building because the space was not large enough to accommodate the growing crowds.

Sutton said the soup kitchen now draws between 200 and 250 people every Monday and Tuesday, he said, adding that “even when the weather was bad, they were just getting knockdown turnouts.”

They begin to set up at about 6:15 p.m., 45 minutes before the store closes, but the overlap hasn’t posed a problem so far.

“We have had to direct some traffic upon occasion…. Most of our installs are done by 6 or 6:30 at the latest, so most of the time it’s not an issue,” Sutton told TireBusiness.com.

An average of 15-20 volunteers—including church members, high school students and other community members—help with the program each night that it takes place. Several RNR employees, Sutton included, have served as soup kitchen volunteers as well.

In addition, for the past three months, RNR has also allowed Family of Christ Lutheran Church in Tampa to use the parking lot every Wednesday night for a similar service.

Sutton is attempting to work out special permission to use the parking lots for at least a few other other stores where property is leased, he said.

mevans@rtohq.org
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