1 week Ago
COLUMBIA — Ridley Crane remembers one of the Saturdays she was hosting Really Free Cola , a monthly market where people can bring items they no longer want or need to give away or trade with others in Columbia . A man was walking by and found a book he wanted. Crane told him it was free.
He didn't — or couldn't — believe her. He insisted on paying until cheekily "swapping" a $1 bill for the item and jetting away from the market near Five Points. "He kind of outsmarted me on that one," Craned recalled with a laugh.
The interaction underscores the purpose of the monthly markets Crane hosts. Everything is free and anyone can take anything, as long as they're respectful and keep the public park clean when they leave. Clothes, LEGO sets, fish tanks and even free medical supplies like Plan B contraception are given away at the Really Free Cola Markets, which take place every third Saturday at noon at Martin Luther King Jr.
Park, 2300 Greene St. The goal is to "pool community resources," reduce waste and offer items folks might need, but can't afford. "It's something we've done away with in modern times," Crane said of the free market concept.
Really Free Cola is part of a rising tide of mutual aid and grassroots-level activism groups springing up in Columbia as fears over recessions, mass deportations and slashed government reverberate throughout the city and nation. All of these groups look to address local-level issues in the Midlands without requiring high levels of funding, staffing or government approvals. 'It's important to have these little (groups) spring up," Crane said.
"It gets us closer to covering all the cracks." Old-school trade swaps offer items at no cost Crane took over hosting duties for the market in November, and has seen a community build during the Saturday afternoons she spends at MLK Jr. Park.
Ridley Crane sits outside of Drip Coffee in Five Points, Columbia, S.C. On the other side of the entertainment district, she hosts monthly free markets, where people can bring things they no longer need to give away at no cost.
She views the lowkey markets as a meeting point for "resources to be dropped into the community." She's watched as a kid has taken home a LEGO set, and reconnected with a woman who took home a teal sweatshirt one month when she returned — wearing the same sweatshirt. For Crane, hosting the market allows her to serve the community with limited resources.
"As a 22-year-old with a real job, I don't have the ties ...
to get these items," Crane said. "The least I can do is provide a venue. I love being a hostess.
" Mutual aid on the rise in Columbia Really Free Cola also hosts other mutual aid groups, including Columbia Medic Collective , which provides supplies like NARCAN, a medicine used during opioid overdoses, and Carolina Abortion Fund , which provides items like Plan B contraceptives. Crane's "dream" is to have produce and other food items at the markets. Food-based mutual aid groups are a staple in Columbia's DIY activism environment.
Food Not Bombs Midlands has been distributing meals to people experiencing homelessness for years. A new group — Columbia Community Fridges — is launching with a well-practiced to stock fridges around town with healthy foods. And it's all based around little to no interaction and completely free food items, according to one of the group's organizers.
For the organizers of Columbia Community Fridges, who asked not to be identified, the mutual aid setup allows for people to directly help their community without bureaucratic or organizational interference. Mutual aid is a widespread concept that leans on grassroots-level organization to serve a direct need in the group's community. Mutual aid groups popped up during the COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of the murder of George Floyd.
According to the Mutual Aid Network , mutual aid is a response to the political and economic times. "In this particular moment, we see that our health is also dependent on other people’s health, and we can literally save each other’s lives," the website's Mutual Aid 101 guide says. "Rather than disengage and feel powerless, mutual aid allows us to plug in where we can make the most impact — locally.
" In Columbia, other mutual aid and mutual aid-adjacent groups include personal protective equipment distributor and disability rights group Soda City MaskBloc and the sustainability minded Columbia Resilience. Pitch Inc. is a nonprofit, but follows a similar model to address housing and food insecurity in the Midlands.
And while many of these groups are spawned out of politically turbulent times, Really Free Cola's Crane makes a concerted effort not to politicize the monthly free markets. "I try to be apolitical with the free market," she said, "obviously it's a little left-leaning in the concept, but it's a place for everybody.".
