By Morf Morford

Tacoma Daily Index

If you drive around town, you can’t miss them; random stuff, from bicycles to furniture out in front of a house or on a street corner or curb.

It’s free stuff. And it’s more than pieces of furniture; there’s little “libraries” with free books, “Food is free” tables and “Buy nothing” groups on social media.

It’s not just you, and it’s not just here.

This is a nation-wide, if not world-wide phenomenon (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/24/nyregion/nyc-sidewalk-free-stuff-furniture-cabinets.html?)

“Buy nothing” groups are locally defined, while little libraries and “Food is free” tables seem to be in every neighborhood.

And there are many other branches, aspects and expressions of this non-market economy.

I’ve seen everything from cat-food and baby food, book shelves, silverware and big-screen TVs on my local “Buy nothing” site.

Many of the little libraries in my neighborhood have a little ‘pantry’ section with non-perishable, mostly canned, foods. And sometimes in-season locally grown produce. Most, if not all of these have been going on for a couple years, or more; in other words, long before COVID related impacts on our economy.

COVID has obviously changed our economy, but it also influences how we give, or claim, food, diapers and furniture from total strangers.

Many of us, and our neighbors, are spending more time than usual sifting through our possessions.

A generation ago, people held garage sales to get rid of outgrown clothes or rarely used or even never-used items that have somehow collected under our roofs. Now we just give it away.

All those clothes that no longer fit, those books we’ll never read or even those pieces of furniture or tools we’ll never use might as well go to someone who will, or at least could, use them.

It’s not the best system, of course, some things don’t get picked up, some food gets wasted (raccoons and crows are just one set of threats to openly displayed food) and some people take things or even vandalize the sites. Some items get wet or broken.

You might even make a few serendipitous discoveries; you might find that product you never thought of trying or didn’t want to buy without a little taste of it first.

You might even find a new way to cook or prepare certain foods. For example, one secret to making sweet potatoes even tastier is to freeze them first. That was discovered by the Chinese who stored them outside – where they froze before being cooked.

But I think it’s fair to say that the vast majority of give-away items go to hands that appreciate them.

“Food is free” in particular, helps families, farmers and even restaurants in difficult, if not inexplicable economic circumstances.

Time will tell if the “free stuff” movement is a transitional experiment or a bellwether, a sign of things to come, or just an upstart response to a unique set of circumstances.

But no matter what it ends up being, it is a “market” outside of “normal” market demands and conditions. And it turns the normal rules of the market economy or even the neighborhood upside down – or even inside out.

The word “free” actually means “free” – no ID required, no registration, no account to set up, no user names or passwords; you just take stuff – or not.

And in some situations (as in “Food is free” tables or pocket libraries) items can be left anonymously without obligation or verification.

Photo by Morf Morford

As I mentioned, these tables, pocket libraries and websites have been visible for a few years now.

I tend to see them in clusters. For whatever reason, some neighborhoods welcome them and some don’t.

I see them in wealthy, poor and middle-class neighborhoods.

Wealthy or not, my sense is that those who offer free things do so many times because they know what it is like to be in need, and are therefore more willing to pass along items without reward or obligation.

Many, I am sure, do not have that experience, and I am even more thankful for them. After all, if you only care about an issue when it impacts you directly, you need to find your moral compass.

Virtually all of us have books, baby clothes, pieces of furniture or cooking utensils we will never use that we could (and would probably be glad to) get rid of.

I almost always have a big box of books in my car trunk to donate to some pocket library.

By any standard, it’s a strange and unexpected variation on our economic system, one that, in retrospect, makes sense.

Many of us have accumulated tools, books, craft materials and odd collectibles that, for whatever reason, we have kept.

In this odd season, teachers, parents or creative people could use those things which may or may not have any intrinsic or market value, but it the right hands they could be a treasure.

Using, adapting and hands-on creating is nearly a lost art.

Creative re-use is a relatively new – and endlessly fascinating opportunity for kids of all ages.

The Tinkering School (https://www.tinkeringschool.com/) encourages re-use of things we would normally toss. From old dishwashers to plumbing parts, the appliances and building materials we use are an endless mystery to young people.

Don’t throw out that old gadget, let some kids dissect it and figure out how it worked.

By any definition, we are in an economy in flux, with all kinds of firmly established rules scattered to the winds.

Giving or accepting food from total strangers might take some getting used to, but for some of us, it can be a life saver – and certainly an unexpected way to get to know people in your neighborhood.

We in Tacoma have our own variation on this theme. Besides these projects, we have Monkeyshines (wrapped around the Lunar New Year) and the more recent Creative Colloquy “message in a bottle” project with poems or short stories tucked in corners around town.

To find more information about Food is Free in Tacoma see: https://foodisfree253.com/ or their facebook page. And to see how North Texas Rural Resilience, a mutual aid collective that services rural areas outside of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, got started, see here: https://grist.org/justice/solidarity-not-charity-mutual-aid-groups-are-filling-gaps-in-texas-crisis-response/. And a heartwarming article about the buy nothing movement: https://www.curbed.com/2021/03/facebook-buy-nothing-groups-nyc.html?utm_source=pocket-newtab.