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.