The thrift that keeps on giving: Pueblo thrift store uses sales to fund food distributions

A Pueblo native who in her past waited through long lines for food distributions only to be told there was not much food left has created a different kind of food distribution that avoids that pitfall.

Carol Blea remembers when her former husband lost his job years ago, she would go from pantry to pantry in Pueblo trying to get food.

"Sometimes I would get there and see the big old line and you are looking at people coming out with boxes of food, but by the time I'd get there, after two hours of waiting, they would say, 'We're sorry, we only have a few things left,' and it would be like a couple of potatoes or a can of green beans," she explained.

"That started me wanting me to do a pantry. I thought in my head, if I was able to do something I wanted to do it a little different," Blea said.

Blea founded the Thrift N' MORE store at 2529 E. Eighth St. on Pueblo's east side with the help of volunteers from her church, Full Force Ministries. All funds generated by the sale of thrift items are used to fund a monthly food distribution.

Blea and the congregants had started running a food pantry out of their church on Cedar, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced the church to close about three years ago.

"When the former 7-Eleven building on Eighth Street became available we decided to open a thrift store. It is a lot more trouble than I thought," she said with a laugh.

"It is a lot of work and I am always thankful for the volunteers who drop by to help," she said.

Thanks to community donated goods, Blea is able to sell items at low prices to raise funds for the food distribution. Right now, distribution items are limited to the first 100 families who sign up each month.

At first, some people didn't like the idea of making an appointment for the food distribution at Thrift N' MORE, but it's a way for Blea to assure everybody gets the same amount of food.

The distribution is held on the third Tuesday of every month. Each family receives milk, eggs, butter, meat and staple foods, she said.

"We give everybody the same things. They call in to register the first two weeks of the month because we get full fast," she said.

"Once we reach 100 families, I just put a voicemail on the machine saying we are full for the month, please give us a call back for the following month," she explained.

"We also do emergency food boxes throughout the week. So they can come in one time a month for that if they need it," Blea said.

The Thrift N' MORE store sells clothing, winter coats, blankets, and household items such as kitchen supplies. The store also offers some snacks such as chips and candy bars as well as coffee.

Blea prides herself on offering the items at a reasonable price.

"Nothing is really pricey. Kids clothes are usually between 99 cents and $3," she said.

Sometimes the store is so packed with items that Blea provides vouchers to other agencies so that people in need can come in and get items free of charge.

"The donations have been coming in like crazy. We are a nonprofit and we can provide a receipt for taxes," she said.

Proceeds also help fund the purchase of school supplies for children and the organization offers holiday distributions such as turkeys for Thanksgiving or hams for Christmas, Blea said.

"We get our regulars who come in to shop pretty often and they become like family," Blea said. "The neighbors are just really cool, they keep an eye out for me so they've been really supportive."

"I am still a pastor — we don't have a church," Blea, 61, said. "We still have a small congregation that gathers every other Sunday and on the third Sunday, we start packing all the boxes for the food distribution," she said.

Families who receive boxes of food are "very grateful and that makes me want to keep going," Blea said. "We always accept cash donations and we've been fortunate with grants that really help us out, plus we've gotten help from Pueblo Food Project and Care & Share."

Hours at Thrift N' MORE are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The store is closed every third Tuesday for the food distribution and also is closed on holidays.

To find out more or to sign up for a distribution, call 719-304-6592.

More food news:Here's how a Pueblo state senator's bill would increase access to healthy foods

Chieftain reporter Tracy Harmon covers business news. She can be reached by email at tharmon@chieftain.com or via X, formerly Twitter, at twitter.com/tracywumps. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.