Vendors earn profits, share social interaction selling Seattle-based newspaper at two Bellingham locations
[Updated Oct. 25, 2024]
Several days each week, Jeremiah Crowder and Tim Buckley stand outside their respective Bellingham Community Food Co-op locations, distributing the publication Real Change News (RCN).
The Seattle-based publication offers impactful news, opinion and arts coverage, but it offers Crowder, Buckley and other vendors of the publication something more: steady, low-barrier work and social interaction with community members.
Vendors are self-employed, low-income individuals, and many have or do struggle with housing insecurity. They buy copies of RCN for 60 cents apiece and sell them for $2, pocketing $1.40 per copy, plus tips.
While there are dozens of locations and hundreds of vendors in the Seattle area, Bellingham has just two: Crowder, who distributes from the downtown Bellingham Co-op location, and Buckley, who sells his papers at the Cordata Co-op location.
Getting started
Becky Spithill, a former Real Change board member who relocated to Bellingham from Seattle around 2014, plays a large part in Bellingham’s Real Change program.
She first encountered Crowder selling copies of Real Change outside the downtown Co-op shortly after moving back to the area. [Ed.: A previous version of this article noted that Crowder had experienced homelessness; he has not.] Crowder, whose father was a vendor in Seattle, had provided his son with copies of the paper to sell.
After chatting with Crowder, Spithill saw to formally getting a satellite extension of the vendor program in Bellingham. Recruiting was difficult, she said, as those experiencing housing insecurity often aren’t comfortable with a lot of public social interaction.
“It’s tough for people who have been in that sort of situation, where they’ve experienced poverty and uncertainty and insecurity, to sell the paper,” she said. “It’s really putting yourself out there.”
Spithill also interviewed a number of residents — from business owners to politicians — in advocating for the Bellingham program. The response was mostly positive, she said, framing those experiencing homelessness as neighbors instead of enemies.
“I think that message is still really, really relevant,” she said, “but it’s a harder sell all the time.”
Although businesses such as Village Books initially welcomed vendors outside their front doors, the recruitment struggles of the Real Change program eventually led to the current status of the program: one vendor at each of the two Co-op locations.
A good vibe
Buckley moved from Seattle to Bellingham around 2016 seeking change, both literally and metaphorically.
He had left a homelessness situation in the Emerald City, and was panhandling by the Cordata Co-op one day when a woman handed him a card. Learning about RCN, Buckley was given a small interview before being handed his first stack of papers: every vendor receives their first 10 copies for free, getting more after their trial period goes smoothly.
For the last six years, Buckley has stood outside the Cordata Co-op distributing RCN to whoever wants a copy. He’s there several days a week, usually around four to five hours a day, depending on his energy levels, he said.
“It’s a good sort of vibe we have here,” he said of his sales routine.
Buckley typically commutes to Cordata from his downtown Bellingham apartment via bus. The money made from tips and sales of RCN are currently his only source of work-related income. While the cash helps him get by, he said socializing with community members makes just as big an impact on him, if not more.
“From the responses I’ve gotten from the customers, it’s almost like a way of life now,” Buckley said. “When I’ve….[taken] a break here or relaxed for a while, people get to asking me, ‘Where have I been? Is there anything wrong?’ So, there’s a huge amount of care that people have for — not just me, but for the other gentleman at the other Co-op, too.”
Spithill said the communication with regulars — many of whom are now both Co-op shoppers and RCN readers — has been very positive for both men. Some shoppers give them more than the necessary two dollars, while others provide them a generous bonus around Christmas.
“The people that Tim and Jeremiah interact with, they become friends with some of these people,” she said.
Buckley said he’s unsure how many copies he sells in a week, but typically starts with 200 copies each time. Spithill says that he and Crowder typically distribute most of the 400 copies they start with.
The fact the Bellingham program is still going is a testament to the success of the two vendors: several years ago, RCN dissolved its board and even considered permanently suspending delivery to Bellingham, Spithill said.
In an interim period of no delivery, Spithill and another volunteer even drove to Seattle to ensure Crowder and Buckley received their papers. Things are running more normally now, Spithill said, though delivery costs have increased in recent years.
Wynne Marks, the downtown Co-op’s general manager, said Crowder’s presence has been a positive one at their store, where solicitation is otherwise not allowed.
“He’s just this lovely, welcoming presence in front of our store,” she said, adding that she often sees him getting a lot of hugs. “The Co-op mission and Real Change’s mission really align. I think that our customers like the community involvement of it, and the friendly, respectful presence [vendors bring].”
Additional help
Buckley has also recently distributed copies of the Bellingham newspaper Cascadia Daily News (CDN) at both Co-op locations, in a trial arrangement that could become similar to what RCN provides. [Ed.: A previous version of this article mistakenly said that both RCN vendors had distributed CDN.]
Staci Baird, CDN’s general manager, said in an email that the newspaper likes the idea of helping out vendors, while also better meeting growing demand for its publication. A vendor would make money based on the same single-copy terms CDN has with other vendors, Baird said.
Spithill said that if anyone else is interested in becoming a vendor of RCN, Crowder or Buckley would likely put them in touch with her for a brief interview and 10-paper sales trial. For any business interested in allowing vendors, contacting Spithill is also a good option.
In the meantime, Buckley and Crowder will continue their weekly mission of socializing and informing Co-op customers, helping foster Real Change’s mission of helping community members interact with people who’ve experienced things that most of us likely never will.
“Every time people have a chance to interact with people who are experiencing homelessness, I think it’s a good thing,” she said.
— By Matt Benoit
Ed.: Shopping this weekend? Salish Current is the delighted beneficiary of this month’s Bellingham Food Co-op’s Community Shopping Day. One Saturday each month, the Co-op generously donates 2% of the day’s total sales to to a local nonprofit organization — so please shop at the Co-op tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 19, and help support local news as a public service, open to all to read!