The store that charges $0

In New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward, there’s a 9,000-sq-ft store where you can pick up clothes, furniture, books, food, and household goods without ever reaching for your wallet. And somehow, free stuff isn’t even the best part.

The New Orleans Free Store operates out of an abandoned former Family Dollar that, from the outside, looks like it’s seen better days. Twice a week, neighbors line up to browse racks and bins filled with donated goods, with many sticking around for art classes, punk shows, free STI testing and other medical care, and more.

Sometimes, they even turn the whole place into a roller rink?

A little something for everyone...The store grew out of the Greater New Orleans Caring Collective, which founder Dan Bingler started after organizing grocery deliveries, meals, and laundry help for neighbors during the pandemic.

• After Hurricane Ida brought an influx of donations, Bingler struck a deal to use the vacant Family Dollar rent-free in exchange for covering utilities and maintaining the property.
• Three years later, the “business” is thriving—and it's become something much bigger than a place to grab necessities.

On the twice-a-week free shopping days, families hunt for school clothes and neighbors browse for household treasures, while local volunteers sort donations and serve food. On skate nights, the lights dim, industrial fans whir, and residents roll around the polished concrete floor having a blast.

It’s all about connection: The Lower Ninth Ward still has empty lots and abandoned storefronts more than two decades after Hurricane Katrina, with residents describing limited access to basics like groceries and medicine.

The Free Store can’t fix all of that; but it can turn one empty building into a one-stop shop where neighbors find what they need, have some fun, and get to know each other.

Founder Dan hopes his concept could eventually roll into vacant storefronts elsewhere.