PEOPLE were lined up outside the doors of the Strathdale Community Centre on Sunday morning for a free community pop-up op shop.

A total of 217 people entered in the first 45 minutes, organisers said. 

Sammy Lysaght, who formed the group Bendigo surrounds single mothers in need (mums 4 mums), was amazed at the event’s popularity. 

It was not the group’s first community pop-up op shop.

But as word about the initiative grows, so too does the number of attendees. 

Group member Debra McMahon said the Strathdale venue was double the size of the previous op shop event, which had 98 attendees. 

“Next time we’re going to go bigger,” she said.

The group was inundated with donations the day prior, and Mrs McMahon said it was so crowded with items when it opened that there was no room for anything more. 

There was still plenty to sift through at 1pm, after 370 people had filtered through the doors.

“All we want to do is to make it easier for mums,” Mrs McMahon said.

“We’ve just handed them a bag and said, ‘Take what you need.’”

The group is made up of mothers who volunteer their time to support other parents in need in the community. 

“We’re not an organisation, we’re just mums,” Mrs McMahon said.

The pop-up shops were created to meet the need for clothing and non-essential items, which parents struggled to afford. 

There are generally two pop-up shops per year – one just before the cooler months, and another as the weather starts to get warmer.

Ms Lysaght said attendees at Sunday’s event – the group’s third pop-up shop – ranged from single parents to grandparents. 

“We’ve had working families here who are struggling,” she said. 

By contrast, she said there had been others who had picked up one item of clothing and donated $20.

Donations will buy supplies for emergency care packs and petrol vouchers, which the group provides to parents who reach out for help. 

Ms Lysaght, a single mother herself, said she had driven pregnant women to Melbourne for medical appointments and had bought meat packs for women unable to afford groceries. 

She said baby formula was one of the group’s largest costs. 

With a Facebook presence that has extended to London and Melbourne, the group now has 1600 members.

Bendigo mother Tania Brown was among those perusing the items in the kids’ room. 

She was searching for clothes and toys for her nine-month-old daughter, Emily.

“Some clothes and a lot of toys can be really expensive,” she said of other outlets.

Organisers said prices at regular op shops had become unaffordable for some members of the community.

“The op shops, they’re not cheap because they’ve got their overheads,” Mrs McMahon said. 

“There are so many mums that just can’t afford even things in the op shops.”

Attendee Jess, who works at a refuge centre, had her clients in mind as she walked around the room filled with children’s clothes, toys and linen. 

She said the women she worked with had developed relationships with mums 4 mums, and had started contacting them directly for help.

“It’s really good for them to have someone they can call,” Jess said.