Free Baltimore!

By: Page

Perhaps you have heard of the free store phenomenon sprouting up in cities across the country. When I first read the phrase “free store” I very thoughtlessly asked, “Sounds neat, but exactly what is a free store?” Simply put, a free store is a shop where people exchange goods without a pricing system.

Baltimore, Maryland is home to two established free stores: a free bookstore known as the Book Thing, and the Baltimore Free Store which offers a variety of goods presented to the community in an open and free market. Matt Warfield, a founder of the Baltimore Free Store, kindly gave us insight into why Baltimore fosters strong support for an alternative marketplace, and how community activism is the cornerstone for the Baltimore Free Store. He also offers advice for those who want to start a free store of their own.



How did the Free Store begin?
The Free Store originated in early 2000 with a group of activists caught up in the anti-globalization movement that was so rampant at the time. We took the “Think Globally, Act Locally” idea to heart. We were overflowing with dumpster-dived goodies and started to give them out for free. During college, a group of us opened a free school supply area in the basement of our house for friends and other people who were also in college. We took that idea and organized a few sporadic Free Stores consisting mostly of dumpster-dived items.

In late 2004, we decided to take the loosely-organized concept of the Free Store in Baltimore and turn it into a solid professional non-profit organization that could provide Free Items and promote other ideas to a wider audience throughout Baltimore City. I developed a basic mission statement and future growth plan, sent out an email announcement to the various list serves, and posted to the local Indy Media site to see who else was interested. In October of '04 I started collecting items for a Free Market to be held prior to the Holiday Season in December. A local Salvation Army had untouched donations that filled a tractor trailer size dumpster on a weekly basis. I would pack my small Geo Prizsm with items after work and store them in the basement of my apartment. On December 18 2004, we held the first free store. I had accumulated enough stuff to pack a 1,500 square foot space with items for free.

From there we formed a collective of involved individuals and slowly grew. We did it all volunteer, working full-time jobs, being a parent, mostly doing things on the weekend. Two of us stored items in our basements. I started advertising that people could drop donations off at my apartment, and I would pick them up after work. By March of '05 we moved into one garage closer to the center of the city and started collecting donations every Saturday for 5-hour periods. By June, I moved to the same area and we used the garage attached to my house to store more donations. By August, we rented another garage. We were taking donations on Tuesdays and Saturdays for 5-hour periods and stored items in the 3 garages. That summer I sold my Geo and purchased a '98 dodge caravan. I took out the seats, and used it like a cargo van to haul stuff around.

During this time, I applied for a fellowship grant with the Baltimore Open Society Institute. We were informed in October of '05 that I received the fellowship grant. By December of '05 we had received the first installment of the money. In January of '06 we rented an 8,000 square foot warehouse and began taking donations on Tuesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. We are currently operating out of the warehouse and have a solid 3,000 square feet of space packed full with donations ready to go out to the Free Markets.

We started collective involvement (time, money, stress, burnout, etc.), but the operation of the organization whittled down to mostly just me. Slowly things are coming back around to be more of a board-run, group effort. We have plenty of volunteers that sort donations and help out at the Free Markets. Most of the volunteers have come from the neighborhoods where we have held Free Markets.

To date, we have held 28 Free Markets since December of 2004. On average a Free Market will provide items to 150 plus people who are often times shopping for many individuals in their family. In short, we have helped give free items to well over 5,000 people throughout Baltimore City.


How do people react to everything being free?
Reaction to the idea that everything is free varies. Most people just dive right in and start looking for what they want. Some people feel kind of awkward and offer up a donation for the stuff they are taking. One thing you have to keep in mind is how we operate - we do not have a storefront but establish one-day temporary free markets in low-income neighborhoods throughout the city. So the events are somewhat festive, involve a lot more than just giving out free stuff, as neighbors will see each other for the first time in like 5 years. People get so wrapped up in their own lives and trapped in their own situations that they often times never stop to look around them. The Free Markets create a community event where people interact. I imagine when we do establish a storefront that will change a bit.

Also, Baltimore is a VERY poor city. In recent years all the working-class jobs that provided people with a decent middle-class income have gone away: the steel plant, the GM plant, and many other industries have moved out. Like most cities, everything has turned to service sector work catering to extremely wealthy executive types who live far outside of the cities where they work. In addition, Baltimore has become the home of many people who work in Washington DC; their incomes are much higher, but the cost of living in Baltimore is much lower. It's kind of like a play-land for people who don't work here or have any real roots here. So, with that in mind, Baltimore has the 3rd highest unemployment rate in the country. Drug addiction, homelessness, murders, crime, and STDs are rampant. Many people are in such desperate need that they don't really stop to question the free idea.

Sometimes people are expecting a hand out, which is a sad side-effect of a large population dependent upon government and social support to survive. We have encountered a very slight bit of hostility from that. Overall there is a great reaction from the communities. In the beginning, we had to search for Free Market locations. Now we get invited. Plus, about 90% of the volunteers who help are people from within the community. They come out early and help set up, help keeps things picked up, interact with other people there, help people haul off their finds, help people find things, and stick around to help clean up. It really is a great representation of what people will do to help each other if just given the opportunity and not pushed through a process where they are just a number in a line at some sort of social program.

Do customers create their own rules of conduct when there are no limits to what you can take?
Yes. The Free Store grew from a group of activists who had a base in anarchist ideals. This means we believe in the ability for people to self govern through voluntary mutual relationships. When you are dealing with severely drug-addicted individuals who have an illness this doesn't always work. As an organizer, my part is to run the warehouse, make sure the bills are paid, get out advertising, collect and sort donations, and take all items to a free market. Then I step back and let it unfold. The community almost always takes ownership and starts rolling forward. If someone is being greedy, people speak up. If someone is being a jerk, people speak up. Out of the 28 Free Markets we have held we have NEVER had any problems with people fighting, or arguing, or had to ask or physically remove someone from the area. There is more than enough stuff to go around and that helps things as well.

Our long-term goal is to establish permanent Free Stores though out the city that is operated by the community. We just act as the start-up, the financial backer, and supply the stuff for as long as needed.


How does the Baltimore Free Store support itself?
Right now we are supported through the Fellowship with the Baltimore Open Society Institute. In addition we sell less than 1% of luxury donations that come in. We also sell some books like textbooks and things along those lines. For example - if we get donated a wind sail we will sale that. Or if we get in a complete pure Silver ornate dining set from the early 1900's we will sell it (And yes, someone actually donated that). We are slowly increasing the sale of those items as we learn what is valuable and what is not.

We are also supported through individual private donations. We are nowhere near being self-sustaining and the money that comes in really only is enough to cover expenses. Without the grant I would not be able to do this full time and get paid.

We are applying for more grants as well as thinking of other ways to generate income such as starting up businesses that would support the free store (i.e., a moving and hauling business).



If you could give advice for people who wanted to open their own free store, what would it be?
This is probably the hardest question because really I don't know. There is no simple solution and I am still learning. We are adjusting, and we are changing constantly. We started extremely grass roots with a collective of 4 people. We had the bare minimum: no external support, no real contacts, funded by money I made at my full-time job. Today we have a volunteer base of over 150 people, around 10 volunteers who put in at least 20 hours a week. We have made many contacts with many organizations through out the city. Our name is out there and really we didn't try at all to get it out there. We never approached the press; we were contacted for the articles that have been written about us. It all happened word of mouth.

We also try to stay away from any institution as much as possible. We do not associate with any one religion or governmental structure. If given the opportunity to be taken under the wing of any religious or governmental institution that had large funding, we would probably decline. We want this to be open and community involved as much as possible.

For example, there is a similar program in Baltimore County that is run through the Social Services department. They have a few rooms in their office building with free stuff, and they often times buy new items like coats and backpacks to give to people for free. They have a budget of around $1 million a year. We have done all of this with a budget around $40,000. But we are empowering people to be involved whereas they are just giving handouts. Ok, so I shouldn't knock them so much, but still, $1 million to do what they are doing? To think where we would be with $1 million. Wal-Mart would be running scared.

So to give straightforward advice -

Decide how you want to operate. Are you going to be more of a charity? Are you going to be a community-building organization? What are your core values? Do you just want to give stuff away for free, or is there more than that?

For us, the Free Stuff is just a catalyst. We want systematic change here and providing Free Stuff is an avenue to bring people together. By providing some basic support, we show people that working together you can solve many of your problems without relying upon outside help such as a governmental institution. So for that reason we organize in this way.

Also - are you going to rotate around like us? Are you going to have a storefront? Are you going to work through an organization like a church?

You can either start a Free Store that is loosely organized; I believe there was one in Williamsburg, Brooklyn that recently shut down. Or you can try and make it as organized and long lasting as possible. For that you need support.

So start by seeing who else is interested, talk with community organizations, try to find some space, get people involved, figure out a future plan for financial support, etc. You should get all that done before you take in your first donation. Then start taking donations and let the free stuff roll.

Maybe I am not the best to ask that question because when it comes to business I am absolutely horrible. I know how to organize. I know how to empower. I know how to work hard and I know how to make ideas I have happen. But dealing with the business end of things, not so great. So you must have someone who is good at that if you want to grow and last. This is running a business. You give stuff away for free, but bills have to be paid. You have to develop an image. You have to have a business plan. You need to be able to support yourself, etc.

Also, anticipate burnout. The hardest part I have come to grasp is what I never expected. I am not just giving out free stuff, but am having to really take on a lot of the situations and problems that the people in the communities are facing. I have to be a friend, a source of hope, a counselor, and a financial supporter to the volunteers who come from the communities. I really get to know them on a personal level. That is what has affected me the most.

What can people do to help?
Money. Sounds lame, I suppose. But especially from a distance, monetary donations - which are tax deductible - are the best way they can help. This all costs money even though we do it on a shoestring budget. The more money we have, the more we can accomplish.

See Also

Dyed Fungus: a Tutorial
Flora Alchemy
Seeds of Inspiration