When we made this same kind of end-of-the-year update last year, we noted that the Free Store had become less of a “general store” and more of a “personal shopper service." This concept held true throughout 2023 and has truly become the backbone of this work.

One concept that we've really leaned into is improving communication with specific people that are integral members of their micro-communities. To that end, we've purchased replacement cell phones, many, many solar power bricks and other charging supplies, and even SIM cards/cell phone plans. All of this has helped create a more robust network of care throughout Vallejo - although this is something that will always be a work in progress.

The more challenging aspects of 2023 were related to personal health issues in our family. There's been some long stretches of time where we haven't been able to do much of the maintenance of the free store shelves or deliver supplies ourselves, so it's been really great to see our community fill in these gaps. On more than one occasion this year, we debated going on a formal hiatus, but every time there would inevitably be some reminder that we're not actually doing this alone. 

Over the next year (health willing), we're also hoping to revitalize the yard that the free store shelves stand on. It's been a dream for a while to have a garden that produces food to share via the free store, so it would be pretty amazing to finally accomplish that. Aside from that goal, we'll continue to do what we can - and embrace the little things that make a huge difference.