It was July 2025, and Kelli Taylor had her doubts they’d ever be able to fill the building that would become Second Chances Thrift Store.
”By the time we opened two weeks later, it was jam-packed full. The community just, it was like they were waiting to help us in some way, and they really stepped up. It was wonderful.”
The store has remained full ever since, and now they’re ready to celebrate with an event this Saturday, August 1, from 10 am to 3 pm.
There will be hot dogs, refreshments, yard sale tables, in-store specials, door prizes, contests and more, said Taylor, the president of the Sackville and District Assistance Centre, which operates both the thrift store and the Sackville Food Bank.
“One of our loyal customers has a food truck. They’re going to come down and sell some food from the food truck and donate some of the proceeds to the store and the food bank.”
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Like food banks across the country, Taylor said usage has almost doubled since the pandemic, and as the size of the population served grew, so did the operation’s need for more funding.
”We’ve had a social enterprise on our strategic plan for the past several years,” said Taylor. “We went to visit a lot of other thrift stores and get some ideas from them, and then we thought, ‘well, maybe we’ll put a plan together and give it a try.'”
They secured the location at 18 Lorne Street and after two weeks of preparing, they opened the doors for the first time on August 1, 2025.
To start, they accepted donations on Mondays and were open Wednesday to Saturday, 10 am to 3 pm. Since then, thanks to an increase in volunteers and paid staff, the hours have increased. First, they started staying open until 7 pm on Thursdays, and starting this week, they’re opening on Mondays as well.
Abby Spencer, a summer student who was recently hired to stay on in the fall at Second Chances, said the community that’s come up around the store has been wonderful to see.
”I’ve never had a bad customer interaction, which is miraculous in a retail job. Everyone really believes in the thrift store and the food bank’s mission, which is really awesome.”
But even before she worked there, she knew how impactful the store could be.
“ It’s kind of funny. I’m pretty sure the clothes I wore to my job interview, I had bought here.”
While Taylor is already looking ahead at what might come next—opening for another evening?—she is more than happy with what the store has accomplished so far, she said.
”We started it last year as an experiment to try to raise money for the food bank, and it’s been a wonderful experiment. We’ve had tremendous support from the community, both in donations and in buying stuff, and we’re ready to celebrate our first year.”
