If you are looking for other ways to engage in community care, free stores might be the solution. In this article, we will explore the history of free stores, how they operate, and how you can contribute to them or start one of your own.
The History of Free Stores
The idea of a market or store without money is not new at all. In fact, it dates back to the 17th century and continues to thrive in the 21st century. The first known experiment with these “markets” was initiated by the communist agrarian Diggers group in England around 1649-1650. The original name of the Diggers was used to refer to their anti-private property idea as they claimed ownership of land (that actually belonged to the king) and cultivated it, exchanging crops freely with other impoverished communities. The movement was swiftly suppressed by the ruling class, but the idea of a community where each individual contributes what they can and obtains what they need continued to evolve and reemerge in various forms over the centuries.
In the 1960s, a group of countercultural activists in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco began referring to themselves as the “San Francisco Diggers” and provided free artistic performances, free meals, and a free store for the community. In the summer of 1967, the group collaborated with Roy Ballard and Larry Mamiya, human rights organizers and followers of Malcolm X, to launch what they called the Free African American Store.
Today, contributing to a free store near you or even starting one in your community can be a great way to engage in community care.
Free Stores Across the Country
A quick Google search for “RRFM near me” will provide useful results (there are free markets in Grand Rapids, San Francisco, New Paltz, Seattle, and others). The same applies to free stores – they exist in Portland, Baltimore, Nashville, and other locations. To learn more, we spoke with some of the organizers behind various free stores and markets in the United States.
Free Store Project (New York City, New York)
After several months of the COVID-19 pandemic, in October 2020, Miles Smotney, an activist and organizer, decided to do something to help her neighbors in New York City. Smotney said, “The people who stayed in the city are those who can’t move anywhere else, people who have spent most of their lives in these neighborhoods. I wanted to do something to lift their spirits. Something fun.”
The first locations of the free store were in her own neighborhood, the Lower East Side, but the idea spread quickly. Before long, many free stores appeared in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. People began calling to offer shelves, printers, display racks, and more. Smotney says, “People would call me and say, ‘I see on your map that there’s no free store near me, how can I start one?’ and I would always say, ‘I’m here to help you. Let’s go.’” The stores are set up on sidewalks, and each community takes responsibility for maintaining the store and keeping it alive. They provide more than just materials; they offer new opportunities for neighbors to meet one another and create connections that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. Smotney says, “I see people I could never imagine together connecting over Bernstein Bears books or Timberland boots. We’ve created something really special here.”
Freecycle Network (Globally)
Deron Behl is the founder and executive director of the Freecycle Network, a grassroots nonprofit that prevents 1,000 tons of trash from entering landfills daily. Behl states, “These items have so much remaining value in them; they just don’t have financial value anymore.”
The network operates on both global and local levels – there are sharing communities around the world, but each community is organized by local volunteers. What started as a Yahoo group has turned into a phenomenon with groups on six continents. The Freecycle Network sees its goal as environmentally driven at its core. Behl says, “If you give away a used couch on Freecycle, you’re preventing a hundred-pound couch from going to the landfill, but you’re also saving 20 times that in industrial waste because you don’t need to extract raw materials (cotton, wood, diesel, water, etc.) from nature to make a new couch. We as consumers can have a tremendous impact on the production cycle through reuse.”
The Store
Nashville, Tennessee
When you enter the store in Nashville, you might think it’s an ordinary grocery store. Customers wander the aisles filled with staple foods, dairy products, and vegetables, selecting items and placing them in a cart or shopping basket. The only difference is that the cashier, wearing a lime green apron, won’t ask for money or credit. The store focuses on the issue of food insecurity.
Courtney Frablek, the store’s executive director, says, “Communities with robust food services are more likely to thrive educationally, are less likely to have long-term medical issues, and are more likely to find jobs in adulthood and be active members of their community.” The grocery collaborates with Belmont University, where the grocery provides food, while the school offers the space along with health and legal services for customers.
The Truly Free Market (Ypsilanti, Michigan)
Local organizer Alexis King attended her first Truly Free Market while living in Carrboro, North Carolina, where the town had been hosting a monthly free market since 2004. King says, “I was blown away. It was amazing. There was hair in the street, people playing guitar, and food being distributed. And everything was free.” When she moved to Ypsilanti a few years later, she knew she wanted to bring that spirit of generosity and community to her new home, so she began working with two other local activists to launch the first Truly Free Market in the city.
King says, “We didn’t expect the first event to be this big, but hundreds of people showed up and kept bringing things. We had a media area with CDs and books, and an area where people offered services and skills, like free acupuncture, for example. And we had a feast, so there was plenty of food. Everyone contributes, helping us set up and dismantle the event.” Now, King and her partners host weekly events and seek to expand their project to include skill-sharing workshops, a human resources guide, and more. King explains, “It’s not just about the material resources; it’s about support and creating a sustainable network of connection in the community.”
How to Start a Free Store in Your Community
Launching a free store doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Organizers I spoke with recommend starting somewhere. When Bill began the Freecycle network, it was just a warehouse in Tucson. He says, “I was running a recycling program at the time, and we were receiving donations for things that couldn’t be recycled. We needed to find a better way to find new homes for a warehouse full of used items, so we created a simple online forum.”
It’s important to remember that the path to a free store doesn’t have to be a lonely one. The sharing economy naturally relies on community members to make it happen. This matters in providing items for the store, but it also matters in maintenance, engaging with the community, and fostering human connections.
Smotney says, “One thing we’ve learned is that community partnership is the most successful. She also recommends learning from those with experience in the field, adapting things to fit a specific community. She says, “In two years of work, we’ve had about 200 volunteers come and go, so we’ve created kind of a handbook with tips for successful operations,” adding, “And we’re here as a resource, recognizing that everyone should have something of their own if we want them to really feel a part of what we’re doing.” All organizers work with existing local organizations like community centers, cafes, bars, and art spaces. The idea is to reuse existing infrastructure to create something new for the community.
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Source: https://www.realsimple.com/work-life/money/what-are-free-stores
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