At the same time, anyone who wanted to help out in distributing clothes and organizing the store was welcomed. Over the years the free store idea has expanded to include open space in cities to be used for growing communal food. Food, like clothing, shelter, education and health care, is a basic necessity of human life. These are human rights. These are not impossible goals, there are working examples in the world today.
People bring clothes, books, household articles, appliances and are free to take whatever they want.
No money exchanges hands. If you do not have anything to drop off, it does not matter. You simply take what you need. There is no such thing as stealing from a Free Store. Virtually ever Free Store ends with more stock than it started with and they are open to everyone regardless of income levels.