In New Orleans, an abandoned Family Dollar store has been transformed into a free store and roller skating rink by the Greater New Orleans Caring Collective. The organization collects donations of clothing, household goods, toys, and other items to distribute freely to those in need, particularly in areas still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. The initiative aims to provide more than just basic necessities, offering comfort and enjoyment through donated luxury items as well. Founder Dan Bingler sees this model as potentially replicable across the country for unused storefronts.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-20,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
In New Orleans, an empty building becomes a free store — and roller skating rink
New Orleans — Scars from Hurricane Katrina are still visible in the Lower Ninth Ward more than 20 years later: empty lots where people never rebuilt their homes and boarded up storefronts where businesses never came back.
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businesses → become → homes
On one corner, an old Family Dollar store stands covered in graffiti.
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store → stand → graffiti
It looks abandoned.
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It → look → ?
But twice a week people line up outside, and when the doors open, they rush in to find racks full of clothing and shelves piled high with household goods, toys, food, books — even packs of birth control.
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they → line → control
Mattresses and furniture line the walls and there are bins full of purses and shoes.
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Mattresses → line → purses
And it's all free for the taking at the New Orleans Free Store, where Ernestine Lane is shopping with a friend from church.
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Lane → take → church
They're trying on boots and winter wear even though it's mid-August and pushing 100 degrees.
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it → try → degrees
"The problem is, we're not used to cold weather," says Lane, "so when it gets cold, you're naked."
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you → use → weather
In this heat, several industrial fans cool the space: there's no air conditioning in the 9,000 square foot building.
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fans → cool → building
Lane says people might be skeptical at first, because of how the free store looks from the street.
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store → say → street
"They see the graffiti on the outside of the building and it's a misconception.
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it → see → building
I say 'Go in, there's blessings in there, go in.'
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I → say → ?
"People who are struggling don't just want the bare necessities," says Dan Bingler, founder of the Greater New Orleans Caring Collective, a local mutual-aid organization that runs the free store.
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that → struggle → store
"They want nice things, too, because they deserve nice things, too," he adds.
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he → want → things
"People want comfort.
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People → want → comfort
People want care.
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People → want → care
People want fun objects in their house just for the sake of those existing.
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People → want → those
Bingler, who is 42-years-old, has a history degree and used to work as a server and bartender in fine dining restaurants.
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who → have → restaurants
When he was sent home at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Bingler says he started organizing grocery deliveries to older folks in the community, meal delivery to families, and help with laundry for people who couldn't safely get to a laundromat.
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who → send → laundromat
"It blew up locally," he says.
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he → blow → ?
Then, when Hurricane Ida hit Louisiana in 2021, "that put us in a position to have kind of like a community resource center," Bingler says.
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Bingler → hit → center
"We had so many objects and things people had donated."
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people → have → objects
The parking lot outside the abandoned Family Dollar was already being used in a similar way, but Bingler made a deal with the owner of the property to use the building rent-free.
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Bingler → abandon → building
He just has to pay the utilities.
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He → have → utilities
That way the property is kept up until the owner is ready to redevelop it in the future.
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owner → keep → future
"It's just a crazy opportunity," Bingler says.
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Bingler → say → ?
"I don't think it's really been tapped."
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it → think → ?
He thinks the idea could be replicated at empty storefronts around the country.
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idea → think → country
On this day, Hilsa Rodriguez, a 37-year-old mom who lives nearby is shopping with her stepdaughters, Angela and Gloria Calix.
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who → live → stepdaughters
Angela, 8, says she likes the free store "a lot."
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she → say → store
She's picked out some animal-print hair clips for school, which she shows to her sister.
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she → pick → sister
Gloria, 9, is shopping for baggy jeans.
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Gloria → shop → jeans
"I like to look for shirts in the summer," she says.
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she → like → summer
She shows off a small, furry vest and explains, "My stepmom is a babysitter.
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stepmom → show → vest
I thought I could be nice and give this to the baby."
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I → think → baby
She's also picked up some towels in case she goes to the beach and flip flops that she's not sure will fit: "I have big feet," she adds.
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she → pick → feet
As the two older girls dig through bins and happily run around with their shopping bags, their stepmom peruses the shelves with her 4-year-old, Galya.
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stepmom → dig → Galya
The free store "helps us a lot," says Rodriguez, who has six kids at home.
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who → help → home
"To have all the donations that they have here," she adds, "we're very grateful."
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we → have → that
In addition to clothing and housewares, the New Orleans Free Store opens its doors for other services twice a week.
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Store → open → services
…and 32 more, not listed.
The Aporia
