OUR FREE MARKET COMMUNITY OUTREACH HAS BEEN MOVED TO JULY, 2011
Additional details available June 26.

Why Free Market?
As a community of faith, One of the Garden’s core values is to serve our community.  We try to come up with creative ways to provide real answers for the very real issues that the people of our cities are wrestling with. Through Free Market, we not only have the opportunity to meet some needs in the lives of people who live and work and shop around us every day, but also get to reach beyond just talking about making a difference in our community and actually help get it done.

Free Market 2009
At a flea market, people try to get top dollar for their junk.  We turned that idea on its head by hosting a FREE MARKET where families in need were invited to take home great stuff...for FREE!  We have away all sorts of high-quality items like couches, refrigerators, TV's, toys, dining room sets, clothes...pretty much anything a family could want!

We worked with Safe Harbor, Jericho Road Ministries, and Grace Clinic to distribute special "early admittance" invitations to the people they serve. Other general information was given to area families through the Richland and Benton City branches of the Tri-Cities Food Bank, Salvation Army, and Union Gospel Mission.

On July 24, 2009, over 66 families "shopped" our first Free Market between 8am-10am.  At 10am, we opened to the public and saw hundreds go home with everything from fishing poles to china cabinets.  In fact, all items were gone by Noon!

We were so blessed by the families who came to receive...probably more than they were! An especially huge THANK YOU to all the coordinators and volunteers who helped make this happen!  YOU - from handing out popcorn to hauling sectional - touched our community and showed that people really can give with no strings attached...just like God's love!

Click here to see photos from Free Market!

Click here to view the story that aired on KNDU