Voices of the Bay: Bristol’s Jodi Miller

The adage “location, location, location” has never been truer for Jodi Miller, manager of the East Bay Food Pantry Thrift Store. On January 31, the store opened in its new temporary location at the former Benny’s Plaza at 655 Metacom Avenue in Bristol, and as of May, sales had already increased by over $120,000 compared to the same time last year, despite being closed in January. The move was necessitated by an extensive renovation of the food pantry’s offices and the store space at 532 Wood Street, where it first opened in 2009. The money earned last year from the thrift store accounted for 25 percent of the East Bay Food Pantry’s (EBFP) operating budget.

Miller, an Indiana native, received her undergraduate degree from Ball State University, and after college, she volunteered at an organization in Chicago for infants and their parents affected by AIDS. She discovered the fun and rewards of thrifting at a neighborhood store, where the proceeds went to different AIDS organizations. This month marks the Bristol resident’s 13th year as manager of the pantry store, following her 12 years as a childbirth educator at Women & Infants Hospital.

NEW LOCATION: Holy cow, we have doubled our sales so far. General awareness of the shop is amazing. We have so many people coming in every day who are brand new. We have all
our old loyal customers, but we get new people all the time.

ACCESSIBILITY: The space here is configured so much better. It’s visible to people driving by and accessible, with lots of parking. The old space has a lot of character but is very spread out. My favorite part here is the natural light.

CURATED: We’re not a typical thrift store. We don’t put out junk, things with stains or tears, or broken items. I think people don’t like to throw things away, and we have a big issue with people donating unusable items. We spend a lot of time sorting through and getting rid of things. I take pride in the fact that when you walk in, you don’t get an instant thrift store smell. I think all of it matters for people.

PANTRY PRIDE: Our shoppers are so varied; the store caters to a diverse population. We have very accessible items for our food pantry shoppers to buy, and we also have super high-end items that bring in tons of money for the pantry. A majority of our shoppers are non-food pantry shoppers. If a food pantry shopper needs something, they receive a voucher, and can come in and get “x” number of clothing items, pots and pans, etc. We make sure our food pantry guests have what they need. We are working hard to reinforce the connection between the shop and its purpose since we’ve moved. We are actively promoting “Buy a Little, Feed a Lot” to strengthen our message. It is posted on our shopping carts and the lighted sign on the wall behind the checkout.

FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT: Sustainability has become a core consideration for young shoppers who see the damaging effects of fast fashion and disposable goods on the environment. We get young people from the community, including many college students. Roger Williams University students receive a 10 percent discount, and in return, on move-out weekend, we receive a lot of donations from them.

COMMUNITY: Our volunteers are amazing. We have upwards of 35. Some are regular, come at the same hours every week, and some pop in whenever they have a couple of extra hours. When shoppers come in, there’s a good chance we know their name; it’s like a personalized shopping experience. We know what certain people look for. Some people even come in a few times a day. There’s just such a special community feeling here that everybody loves. For store days, hours, and special shopping events, check out EastBayFoodPantry.org.