A good friend gave me a tip on this one. Thanks John.
Frank Gerson is a name we should know. He was Cincinnatian who made the city proud, to be sure.
Frank worked at the city incinerator - the garbage dump - in the early 1970s. Back then, the city incinerated it's garbage. They had a number of locations around town. I remember one place where they did it was on Este Avenue at Centerhill Avenue in Elmwood Place - I worked near there at that time.
Anyway, Frank saw usable items being discarded and it went against his grain to see them burnt up. He started pulling the decent items and taking them home to his one room apartment. After a while, his landlord let him store things in the attic of the house. Local people became aware that he had a lot of junk and came by to look at it. He let anyone who came, have what they wanted. He called himself the Free Store.
He collected more and more things and then people started bringing him things they no longer needed. Pretty soon, people were in a line outside his apartment looking for things when he got home from work. He would ask them what they wanted - many said food. He found throw-aways at the local groceries in Clifton Heights.
In 1971, Frank quit his job with the City and started the Freestore Foodbank. He teamed with a guy, Steve Gibbs, who helped him set up a charitable non-profit corporation. The ball was rolling. One of the first of its kind in America.
In 1979, Gerson's Freestore Foodbank became a founding member of Feeding America, the premier national organization of it's kind. Freestore Foodbank of Cincinnati currently has three outlets and is one of the largest local operations in the country. You can donate food or goods or volunteer your time: visit www.freestorefoodbank.org
Frank Gerson died in 2016. A life well lived.
Info from Cincinnati Business Courier
Anyway, Frank saw usable items being discarded and it went against his grain to see them burnt up. He started pulling the decent items and taking them home to his one room apartment. After a while, his landlord let him store things in the attic of the house. Local people became aware that he had a lot of junk and came by to look at it. He let anyone who came, have what they wanted. He called himself the Free Store.
He collected more and more things and then people started bringing him things they no longer needed. Pretty soon, people were in a line outside his apartment looking for things when he got home from work. He would ask them what they wanted - many said food. He found throw-aways at the local groceries in Clifton Heights.
In 1971, Frank quit his job with the City and started the Freestore Foodbank. He teamed with a guy, Steve Gibbs, who helped him set up a charitable non-profit corporation. The ball was rolling. One of the first of its kind in America.
In 1979, Gerson's Freestore Foodbank became a founding member of Feeding America, the premier national organization of it's kind. Freestore Foodbank of Cincinnati currently has three outlets and is one of the largest local operations in the country. You can donate food or goods or volunteer your time: visit www.freestorefoodbank.org
Frank Gerson died in 2016. A life well lived.
Info from Cincinnati Business Courier
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