About RRFM
What is the Really Really Free Market?
A Really Really Free Market (RRFM) is a community event where people come together to freely give and receive items, food, skills, and more. It’s a completely free event, with no money or exchanges involved.
The name is a contradiction to and reimagination of the term free market — a competitive economic system predicated on supply and demand.
Really Really Free Markets highlight the power of community, abundance, recycling, and the gift economy. They offer an alternative to the capitalist system that focuses on scarcity, competition, and individualism.
RRFM History
Really Really Free Markets have been organized around the world for decades, with the first known RRFM taking place in the early 2000s at a Food Not Bombs meal in New Zealand.
In the U.S., the first RRFM occurred simultaneously in Miami and Raleigh in 2003 during the anti-globalization protests against the FTAA.
Why the Steel City?
Pittsburgh has long been known for its proud working-class roots.
Nevertheless, due to factors like deindustrialization, systemic racism, redlining, and gentrification, the average income in Pittsburgh is lower than the national average, with 11% of the population living in poverty and 33% either at or near the poverty line. As a result, mutual aid groups play a vital role in the well-being of our communities.
The Really Really Free Market is, at its core, a mutual aid initiative designed to provide support to Pittsburgh residents outside the confines of capitalist systems.
Our Intention —