CHESAPEAKE — Chesapeake United Methodist Church is performing its own kind of alchemy — turning second hand clothing into food for families.

On Tuesday Maxine’s Closet, a second hand thrift store, opens on Third Avenue in Chesapeake across from Monty’s Pizza.

“The space was donated to us by the family of Maxine Edwards, who had owned and operated Edwards’ Cut Rate Store,” pastor Charles Case of Chesapeake United, said. “She passed away in January. We finally decided to open up this store to generate proceeds for the food pantry at the Chesapeake Community Center.”

The clothing is mainly from donations from church members.

“We wanted to provide an alternative for families struggling to make ends meet,” Case said. “Good clothes at second hand prices. Clothing the family takes a lot out of the budget. When we do rummage sales at church, we always sell tons of clothes.”

The church was able to acquire discount clothing racks that came from a Huntington shop when it closed in January.

Hours for the shop are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday and 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday.

“It is like any thrift store,” Case said. “Anybody is welcome to come in and shop. We especially have a lot of kids’ clothing and men’s and women’s.”