Sarah Daugherty thinks she would have struggled to provide for her family had it not been for Poppin’ Tags Free Store in West Deer.
Daugherty, of Leechburg, said she learned of the store on Facebook years ago and has been able to use it to pick up clothes for her four children, now ages 12, 10, 9 and 6.
“It’s such a big help because I’m a single mother,” she said.
Helping people like Daugherty is the reason Sonya Dembowski opened Poppin’ Tags five years ago, but she never expected it to grow as much as it did.
“The need was noticed,” Dembowski said. “We decided this is what we needed to do.”
Poppin’ Tags is one of a couple dozen of its kind in the state — where, for people in need, everything from clothes to toys to toiletries and small furniture is free.
“If you’re in need and we have the resources to help you, we will help you,” Dembowski said.
How they operate
The first free store in the state, Free Store 15104, was set up in Braddock about 14 years ago, said owner Gisele Fetterman, the wife of U.S. Sen. John Fetterman.
Hours are typically 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 10 a.m. to noon Saturdays.
Fetterman has a team of about 20 volunteers that run the store, which is made up of decommissioned shipping containers.
“We wanted to show they have more life in them and we can build something cool and beautiful for them, and they don’t have to end up in a landfill,” Fetterman said.
In fact, that’s essentially the motto of Free Store 15104. All of its items are donated. The store does not accept furniture or appliances, and its general rule is that items must be able to get on or off a bus and need to be in season.
“Our goal is to meet immediate needs for families,” she said.
If the store is unable to take an item, volunteers direct them to another location, like nearby churches, where donors can drop things off.
Fetterman estimated the store serves about 200 families each day it’s open.
Real need
When Amber Large’s mother, Ginger, had a stroke last summer that left her unable to work, Poppin’ Tags was able to fill the gap and assist with her family, be it with personal care products or food and gifts during Christmastime.
“I wish there were more free stores,” said Amber Large, of Harmar. “My mom would probably be pretty broke right now without it.”
The Allegheny County Department of Human Services estimates about 11% of Allegheny County’s population — more than 130,000 people — live at or below the federal poverty level of $50,000 a year for a family of four. In Braddock, where Fetterman operates, the borough is considered distressed, with about a quarter of the population needing help of some kind from county human services.
That problem isn’t unique to urban areas of the county. In West Deer, where Poppin’ Tags operates, more than half of the township’s geographic area is considered in high need of county services, with about 11% of residents in the northern portion of the township needing some form of county assistance.
Nearby areas, such as Harrison, Tarentum and Brackenridge, are considered to be high or very high need communities, with up to 18% of the population living in poverty.
Westmoreland County, too, has about 11% of residents — almost 39,000 people — living at or below the federal poverty level, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Several communities there have substantially higher poverty levels. Jeannette, for example, has a more than 22% poverty rate.
That’s why Madison Shtur opened a free store there.
The Jeannette Free-Op Community Store along Clay Avenue has clothes, toys, small appliances and personal care items, Shtur said . It opened in December 2023.
“I think a lot of the time, people think it’s only clothes,” Shtur said. “It surprises people when they come in and see what’s available.”
The store in Jeannette operates on a “pay what you can” model. “I wanted to present a store that is equitable for everyone,” Shtur said.
The Jeannette store had up to 3,000 shoppers last year, which includes some repeat customers, Shtur said.
Last year’s budget to operate the store was about $30,000, she said. It is a nonprofit and is a stand-alone organization.
She pays the store’s rent and utilities, and identified the top three funding sources as corporate sponsorships, individual donors and fundraising.
“It’s a struggle,” she said. “We definitely don’t have guaranteed funding.”
Poppin’ Tags is housed in a rented 2,500-square-foot building off Little Deer Creek Valley Road in West Deer. Dembowski said donations are able to keep the store running.
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“There’s enough cash donations per month to pay for the building,” she said.
Monetary donations and grants also cover costs to run the Braddock store, Fetterman said, although she noted costs are minimal because the location is solar-powered.
“People really want to help each other and be there for each other,” she said. “We’re able to fill the space.”
‘We believe in people’
None of the three stores profiles their shoppers, and all three owners said people taking advantage of the free items is a minimal or minor problem.
“I don’t accept abuse of the system,” Dembowski said. “There’s some who take advantage, but the amount of people who are like that are nothing compared to the people who actually need.”
Poppin’ Tags bans people from the store who take items and resell them for a profit.
Fetterman said people learn of free stores through social media posts, the PA211 helpline for local resources and referrals from local agencies, or word of mouth.
Fetterman has seen shoppers become donors, and the other way around.
Having a requirement to determine shopping eligibility goes against what a free store stands for, she said.
“We believe in people. I think a lot of places require you to (prove eligibility), and I think that is dehumanizing to have people do that,” she said.
“Providing food and clothing is one part of what we do. We create a safe space that people trust and that provides resources to others.”
Stores do implement limitations on how often people can pick up certain materials such as diapers, wipes or food because of demand.
Shtur said most people who use the Jeannette free store are there for the right reasons.
“The overwhelming majority … don’t take advantage of the system,” she said. “But just like any public system, there are outliers.”
Additional benefits realized
It’s also a slight struggle for free stores to filter the quality of their donations, Shtur said.
At the Jeannette store, things must be clean and come from a smoke-free home and can’t be broken. She reviews each donation that comes in.
“In general, the community wants other people to have nice things,” she said.
Even in an era where people can get things online for free, there’s still nothing that compares to a brick-and-mortar store, Dembowski said.
She’s found that having her West Deer store gives shoppers a sense of confidence and instills a camaraderie and friendship between themselves and store volunteers.
Daugherty, for example, volunteers at the store about twice a month. She donates back to the store clothes and toys that her children have outgrown.
“Because (Dembowski) has helped me so much, helping out at the store is a nice way of giving back,” Daugherty said.
Dembowski’s goals are to establish a community center space, and to provide more resources to people instead of referring them to other agencies.
“Being an open-minded facility, we have been able to help people change their lives — and it’s literally cost us nothing,” she said.