One act of kindness can lead to a hundred acts of kindness. One person can make a lasting difference. One spark can start a fire.To anyone who has heard about Braddock’s Free Store’s beginnings these sentences are not cheesy clichés but are statements that have proven to be true.
Braddock has had a troubled past. Local photographer, Latoya Ruby Frazier, characterized Braddock’s condition in her book saying that “The collapse of the steel industry throughout the 1970s and ‘80s limited upward mobility. A majority of us would never own our homes and businesses or gain access to higher education or better jobs” (Frazier). Nowadays, a drive through Braddock shows green space and demolished buildings. At first glance it seems that it might be a town without hope, but if one takes a closer look you can see the sparks of love and kindness that have reinvigorated not only Braddock, but the larger surrounding communities as well.
The Braddock Free Store
When she was young, Gisele Fetterman, the founder of the Free Store and the wife of Braddock’s mayor, moved from Brazil to the United States to escape violent conditions. In America, she saw two related issues that she felt she could help; need and massive waste. During a visit, Fetterman told us the story of the stores origins. It all started when her husband asked her what she might want for her birthday that year. Using shipping containers for building materials had recently become a trend as they are fairly inexpensive, but extremely durable. Knowing this and seeing the need in the community, Gisele proposed the idea of the Free Store to her husband. So, for that year her gift was a few empty metal boxes, that were full of potential.
The idea of the Free Store was born, but without others it would it not be able to open. Fetterman searched for a location to put the shipping containers and a local property owner offered up his vacant lot for free. There would also need to be people to help run the store and once again the community made it happen. There are now numerous people that volunteer to handle the regular operations, including an extremely dedicated group of local women. These women often run the store on a day-to-day basis and are usually the ones who carry the store’s keys. Many others stepped up to fill the store with donations.The store collects clothing, toys, and food to give away. It is also partnered with various grocery and retail stores that donate surplus food and goods that would have ended up in landfills to the free store.
The store has had a substantial impact on the community. They serve up to four-hundred people every week (Proud to Be). Just the sheer amount of food that they have saved from landfills is impressive:
In their first year they saved about 405,000 of food (A place of).
The store also sets up numerous events to bond the community together, for example the store just partnered with Whole Foods, and Children’s Hospital to run their Annual community Easter Egg Hunt. Fetterman’s vision has turned into a wonderful reality, but her act of love has not stopped at Braddock’s Free Store. The Free Store has created a type of community kindness trend.
412 Food Rescue
This trend really exploded in a way that no one could have predicted. Leah Lizarondo, who served on boards of the organizations, Just Harvest and Grow Pittsburgh, was inspired by the way the Free Store saved and redistributed so much food to its community. Lizaronda approached Fetterman with the thought of replicating what the Free Store does with food with more retailers, more volunteers, and a greater range of influence. The two then teamed up to create an organization called 412 Food Rescue.
The organization harnesses an app that works in a similar way to Uber. The app is called “Food Rescue Hero” and anyone who has time can sign up and help. The app pairs volunteers that have free time with retailers that have food that they no longer want with people who are in need of the food. There are more than 4,000 people that are registered as drivers, which the organization titles them as “Food Rescue Heroes” (Impact Report).
At the date of their first report in 2018 they have had 18,234 food rescues completed (Impact Report).
In order for such success the group partners with over 450 different non-profit organizations in the area (Impact Report). The organization is especially notable, because of its modern concept. Normally, non-profits collect food and individuals who need the food have to travel to get to it. The problem with the traditional model is that not everybody has the means to travel. Pointed out in 412 Food Rescue’s report and according to the National Highway Transportation Survey 25% of impoverished people in the United States do not have cars and 14% of households in Allegheny County do have access to vehicles. The organization partners with “housing authorities, subsidized daycare centers, senior centers, after-school programs, family, and community centers” because these are sites that “are already accessed everyday” (Impact Report)
Another issue that 412 Food Rescue with traditional non-profits that deal with food is that often food that is donated has very little nutritional value. 412 Food Rescue’s model allows for the access of fresh and healthy food, since it is either coming from grocery stores or from a branch of the organization called Hidden Harvest that gleans the unpicked fruits and vegetables that are not used from public and private farms, trees, and gardens. Between March 2015-February 2018 the organization has rescued 3,000,724 pounds of food (Impact Report).
The Other Free Stores
Not only has the non-profit 412 Food Rescue evolved from Braddock’s Free Store, but Fetterman’s idea has led to the creation of other Free Stores in the surrounding communities. Braddock’s Free Store had inspired people in Penn Hills, Wilkinsburg, and college students at Penn State Greater Allegheny to create Free Stores of their own.
The Wilkinsburg Free Store operates similarly to the Braddock Free Store, although instead of working out of shipping containers they are located in an actual building at 619 Penn Avenue that was lent to them free of charge by the owner. The store was started by four local women, Marita Garrett, Kristen Michaels, Marlee Gallagher and Mary Ann Sickles, who heard about the Braddock Free Store and decided that their community could benefit from something similar. The Free Stores help each other, but are run separately, by individuals in each community.
Students at Penn State Greater Allegheny were also inspired by the work being done in Braddock and decide that they too could help the community around them. This Free Store operates on the bottom floor of one of the University’s structures, the Frable Building. The store is primarily run by student volunteers and receives donations from local stores, local schools, and local people.
“I've been so moved and inspired by the student-led team involved in this endeavor.” - Gisele Fetterman
A Free Store in Penn Hills was also opened on November 19, 2016. It has been serving its community since then but has recently closed its doors to the public. The doors closing at the Penn Hills Free Store are not the end of the love within that community. The store is using their stocked-up clothing supply to start a clothing closet at Penn Hills School District. Janica Estes, a local woman who volunteered as a manager at the Penn Hills Free Store, is already looking into starting another Free Store location in Homewood.
Gisele Fetterman’s idea of a Free Store has significantly impacted Braddock, but it has also led to a seemingly endless amount of good. The willingness to volunteer and donate in Braddock has inspired thousands to help others in the Pittsburgh area and it seems like 412 Food Rescue and the Free Stores might just be the start.
Works Cited
Frazier, LaToya Ruby, et al. The Notion of Family. Aperture Foundation, 2016.
“Impact Report: Innovation to Impact.” 412 Food Rescue, Feb. 2018, 412foodrescue.org/.
“Proud to Be from Pittsburgh: The Free Store in Braddock.” Channel 11 News , 21 Mar. 2014, www.wpxi.com/news/local/proud-be-pittsburgh-free-store-braddock/139718121.
“The Free Store.. A Place of Hope and Love in Braddock, Pennsylvania.” Performance by Michelyn Hood Tinor, The Pittsburgh Spot, pghspot.com/spotlight/freestore/.