“Priceless on Princess” op-shop key to new model

“Priceless on Princess (op shop) is the most fun thing. It’s just great,” co-founder May Croft of The Social Crust foodbank told The Star during a check on it first year of the shop’s operations helping to fill the foodbank’s continued funding gap.

“It just seems like everybody has these things in a shed or somewhere that they no longer need. One fellow came in … and said: ‘I’m shifting and can’t be bothered selling all this stuff on TradeMe. I’m

very happy to bring it here.’ That happens quite a lot,” May said.

The result for the shop is that “everything is pure profit” as people donate goods, the shop managers are volunteers and, said husband Peter (the accountant), “the cost of goods in nil.”

“In our first 12 months we’ll do 50 grand ($50,000 of income from the shop project).”

“When we started we thought if we do a thousand a month we’ll be happy. At the end of 12 months we’ll do 50 grand,” he said.

“My reluctance toi talk about money is that people then say they don’t need any donations from us.

“But what’s happened is that government funding has gone to zip. In fact it’s winding down as we still have a couple of payments to come” before it ends. That applies nationwide.

May: “So for continuity and because we want to devise (develop) the model of foodbank that we do _ we think that it’s actually empowering for people and always it’s the client that must be considered first.”

Peter: “We don’t want to just sit round and put our hand out for money from people. We want to say we put that shop in place _ so can you help us add to that? We’re doing our bit and we want the community to tip in the balance _ and so far the community has been good, as have community trusts and individuals.”

May: The model is open access, “and we will give you something if you need it.” With many foodbanks closing as government funding dries up, “that’s why an income stream (like the op

shop) is so important,” she said.

Peter: “We are very fortunate in having a generous community which acknowledges the need and helps us meet it.”

The shop has also surprised over just how many household changes there are in Martinborough _ people coming and going _ “and on both occasions there is always excess household goods and it’s fantastic that they think of us and drop them off at the foodbank and Priceless.”

Peter: “The perfect op shop customer is someone who brings goods in and then buys something and takes it away.”

For the diary: the Priceless Christmas Sale began December 7 “with everything to do with Christmas on sale,” May said. “They have Christmas decorations, Christmas trees and Christmas-you-name-it, they’ve got it.“