No price tag. There is no cash register. No money is needed.
That’s what shoppers can expect from a fancy new store in upstate New York, where everything on the shelves is free.
Free Store plans to move into a vacant Rite Aid store in Troy, about 8 miles north of Albany in the Capital Region, within a few months, according to WTEN.
According to the Times Union, the store will be the second Free Store opened by Free Store Mission Inc., a Vermont-based nonprofit organization. The organization’s first free store is located at 401 Main Street in Bennington, Vermont, about 32 miles from Troy.
The new Free Store will open in the former Rite Aid store at 272 Hoosick Street, a 14,600-square-foot building that has been vacant since June 2025, the Times-Union reported. It will be modeled after the nonprofit’s flagship store in Vermont.
The free store’s shelves are stocked with clothing, accessories, decorations, pet supplies, kitchen utensils and other items donated by the public. According to WTEN, shoppers can take home up to 25 items per week.
Free Store Mission Inc. will serve 4,400 households by 2025 as rising prices continue to put a strain on the budgets of residents across the U.S., Free Store Mission Inc. board chairwoman Joyce Lloyd told WTEN.
“I’ve seen this happen in my own home,” she said. “You know, I never thought that people, my family, would want to go to a food bank because childcare, medical bills, rent, everything is overwhelming.”
While an exact opening date has not yet been set, Lloyd told the Times Union she expects the Troy Free Store to open in late spring or early summer.
Organizers of the free store are looking for corporate sponsors and looking for volunteers to help run the new store. Anyone interested in volunteering can call (802) 379-3402 or email freestore05201@gmail.com.
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