Both customers and donations down in store that funds food bank
When is a business a business, and when is it part of the fabric of a community? Medical Lake may find out soon if things don't turn around for Care and Share, the 30-year-old landmark thrift store on Lefevre Street.
That's because Care and Share isn't just a thrift store, but the financial lifeblood of the Medical Lake Food Bank.
The do-it-yourself culture of the Internet has taken its toll on donations at the Care and Share, like it has many other brick-and-mortar stores, according to Director Anne Starr. The cold and snow isn't helping either.
"The weather is killing us," Starr said. "It has an effect on traffic."
But weather is only partly to blame. Donations are down as well, especially quality donations the thrift store relies upon to draw customers, according to Starr.
While the loss of a thrift store may be no big deal to some, it will have a direct effect upon the people in the community who rely on the Medical Lake Food Bank to make ends meet.
"We feed about 500 people each month from four different zip codes," food bank Director Terri Worl said.
Although the Medical Lake Food Bank does receive cash donations, the bulk of its support revenue is generated by sales from Care and Share. In fact, 100 percent of net proceeds from sales at Care and Share go to fund the food bank; it exists to fund the food bank, according to Starr.
"If there's no Care and Share, there's no food bank," Starr said.
The Care and Share isn't your average thrift store, as anyone who has been there knows. It's cleaner - neat and tidy - and the quality of the merchandise, particularly the clothing, is higher.
But Starr thinks that another reason quality donations are down is technological.
"Now people are selling online," Starr said.
The quality used items that Starr will place on the sales floor have dropped between 40 to 50 percent in the last 1 1/2 years, she said.
Junk donations remain a problem. Monday mornings usually find the donation room that faces Lefevre Street stuffed with unwanted items that are "70 percent garbage," Starr said.
Although a camera was installed in 2015 in an effort to deter people who are trying to avoid paying disposal fees at county waste transfer stations, it hasn't helped.
"Oh, I thought someone could use it," is an excuse Starr said she often hears.
She ought to know. Starr has been at the Care and Share for 19 years, and served as director for 18 of them.
The place smelled of cigarettes and other odors when she first volunteered. The items for sale were junk; the store "a hovel," she said.
After fellow volunteers elected Starr director, her first order of business was to purge the place and replace questionable merchandise with quality used items.
"I started getting rid of all the smelly stuff," she said in a slight New York City accent. "It was disgusting."
More people began coming in as the merchandise improved.
Today, Starr said she sees customers from as far away as Spokane who visit because they'd heard by word of mouth of the inexpensive, quality pre-owned items available at Care and Share. Others visiting the Lefevre Street Bakery stop in when they see the thrift store, she said.
But there's yet another, less tangible benefit of the Care and Share: community.
"This place is so much more than a thrift store," Starr said. "It's a place to share the good and not-so-good things in life."
She noted that like herself, some volunteers have lost children in the past, and commiserate at Care and Share or come to share in some friendly conversation.
Starr is a hugger - eminently approachable with a friendly, effervescent personality, who said she loves people and loves to make them smile. She shared the story of one woman who had lived alone for 10 years. She would visit the store regularly just for the company.
"This is the only place where I can get a hug," the woman told her.
"There's a sisterhood here," Starr said. "This place is so much more than a thrift store."
Starr, who puts in "at least" 50 hours per week, according to volunteer Barbara Reese, said managing the thrift stores a blessing and her "purpose in life."
"We're blessed to be here and to take care of our own in the community," Starr said.
The Care and Share is open weekly between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
For information call Care and Share at 509-299-9024, or visit the store at 211 N. Lefevre St., Medical Lake, WA 99022.
Lee Hughes can be reached at [email protected].
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