Story originally printed in the Winona Daily News or online at www.winonadailynews.com

Published - Sunday, May 18, 2008

Free for all: Winonans working together in shaky economic times

Winona County Hazardous Waste Program Coordinator Kim Nelson organizes paint cans in the storage room of Winona County Environmental Services on Second Street in Winona. Hazardous waste items can be dropped off and are available for free through the hazardous waste exchange program. (Photo by Andrew Link/Winona Daily News)

By Käri Knutson | Winona Daily News

With gas edging toward $4 a gallon and food costs rising, free goods and services are becoming that much more appealing.

In dire economic times, Winona residents are cutting out the dollar by providing — and leaning on — a variety of free services. Some have been around for years. Others, such as today’s Really Really Free Market at Sobieski Park, have arisen out of a desire to help the community.

Winona’s first Really Really Free Market, an open-air goods-and-services exchange, was held April 20. About 200 people showed up to find treasures such as clothes, records and books. Some people offered services such as chess lessons and haircuts.

The event is organized by the community, for the community and is planned to continue monthly.

Another exchange service directly matches givers with seekers. The Winona Shares’ Free Store started in 2004. Its Web site, www.winonashares.org, connects people in search of a particular item with people who are unloading their stuff.

Recently available items included a microwave, fridge, weight bench, bed and couch. Requests included a treadmill, aquarium and lawn mower.

Someone once requested a car.

“That was probably a stretch,” said Kay Peterson, the Free Store’s coordinator.

The service is available to everyone in the counties of Winona, Wabasha, Fillmore, Houston, Buffalo and Trempealeau, regardless of income.

Use of the site has increased since the August flood.

Anyone can look but information on who is giving or requesting an item is available only after entering your own information.

The service doesn’t accept food, clothing or pets, since resources for those things already exist in Winona, Peterson said.

Sometimes, exchanges can happen quickly. Last week, Peterson got an e-mail from a client who listed two pieces of furniture at 11 a.m. By 2:30 p.m. that same day, one piece had already been hauled away.

“It’s a quick, easy way to reduce waste and save money,” Peterson said.

Furniture is always popular, especially beds. Peterson encourages people to include detailed information about the condition of their items to ensure a good match. In her two years as coordinator, she’s gotten only one complaint about an item. Some of the more unusual items successfully exchanged include a portable toilet, packing peanuts, infant formula coupons and furnace filters.

After 30 days, listings are automatically deleted from the site unless a person requests it be listed longer.

“What we promote is reducing waste and helping people,” Peterson said. “This is 100 percent positive. It’s an uplifting thing.”

Helping the needy

Winona Volunteer Services also understands helping people. The agency puts food on their shelves for low-income families.

It also offers discounted used clothing: 50 cents for kids’ clothes, $1 for shirts, pants and skirts, and $25 for the occasional wedding dress.

Demand for the food shelf department has increased over the years. Between January and April of this year, 100 new households used the food shelf. During those months last year, there were 78 new households. That’s up from 51 new households in 2005.

“This is definitely the most we’ve ever had,” said Sandra Burke, director of Winona Volunteer Services.

Clients who have recertified to use the food shelf have also increased — 163 recertified between January and April, up from 163 in 2007. In 2005, there were 144.

“It’s not going down.” Burke said. “That’s the bottom line.”

Fortunately, the food shelf has also seen an increase in donations. Between January and April this year, 78,911 pounds of food were collected, as well as monetary donations. In the same four months in 2007, 75,503 pounds were collected, up from 62,673 pounds in 2006.

“Overall, we’ve had a better March campaign in food and dollars collected,” Burke said. “People are still donating.”

The food shelf also makes emergency food kits available to anyone, regardless of income. They’re designed to help get people through, whether it’s a dip in income, illness or if they’re between jobs.

“Nobody should go hungry or worry about where their next meal is coming from,” Burke said.

Fixing up

Since 1989, Winona’s Hazardous Waste Exchange Program has recycled things people might throw away by offering them for free to people who can use them. People bring in paint, aerosol cans, automotive products, cleaners, stain and other hazardous materials.

“Sometimes people don’t like the color paint they chose, or they didn’t need as much as they bought,” said coordinator Kim Nelson.

Donated items get inspected and put on the shelf if deemed safe and usable. The busiest times are spring and fall.

Many of the things would either sit in people’s garages or basements because people don’t know how to dispose of them, Nelson said.

“For the most part, everything gets reused,” he said.

Contact Käri Knutson at kknutson@winonadailynews.com or (507) 453-3523.