Ten times as many people rely on Open Cupboard for food now than did just four years ago.

To meet the demand that has soared 1000 percent since 2020, the food pantry is adding a second location in Maplewood near Aldrich Arena. The nonprofit organization’s store, Today’s Harvest, celebrates its grand opening Dec. 17 but has already begun serving shoppers on a limited basis. 

The second store should ease wait times at the Oakdale location. The Maplewood spot will be larger and located near a bus line. Both spots offer fresh healthy produce, meat, and baked goods free of charge. Shoppers make their own selections rather than simply receiving a box of canned goods like the old model food shelves.

Jessica Francis, Open Cupboard’s executive director, said demand has exploded in the last five years. “When I started at the end of 2019 we were serving about 420 households per week, and now we’re serving about 4,800, and that was before we opened this site. At Today’s Harvest in Maplewood, we’re expecting to serve about 700 families a day.”

She estimates 5,000 households per week will be helped at the two locations.

Open Cupboard began as the Christian Cupboard Emergency Food Shelf at the Woodbury Lutheran Church in 1983. It later changed its name and moved to a new building on the Guardian Angels Catholic Church campus in 2018.  

The non-profit organization sources food from 19 retail partners, including supermarkets, local stores, and farmers markets. Five days a week, Open Cupboard drivers pick up food that is close to its expiration date, and would otherwise end up in a landfill if not sold within the next couple of days. Volunteers sort and inspect each food item for freshness and quality and then stock it in freezers and on shelves.

There are no forms to fill out, no intake process or intrusive questions. Shoppers just grab a cart and go. The entire experience is designed around making fresh food accessible to anyone in need in a dignified, non-exclusionary manner.

Today’s Harvest Director, Kayla Glaraton, said none of this would be possible without volunteers.

“Volunteers play a key role here at Open Cupboard. There are a lot of different opportunities, from cleaning the market, sorting food, restocking, and even breaking down cardboard,” Glaraton said. “We’re happy to have anybody from the community help volunteer!”

Glaraton said that Open Cupboard aims to make volunteering simple and hassle-free. Some choose to come once or twice a week, while others come daily. Shifts are a manageable two-hour commitment, with the option of working multiple consecutive volunteer sessions for those who would like to invest a little more time. 

Volunteers range in age from the minimum requirement of 15 years old to college students looking for community service hours, up to retired snowbirds who help when they’re in town before retreating to Arizona and Florida when the snow flies.

To meet the ever-increasing need and nourish our community, Open Cupboard is recruiting more volunteers.  Shopper turned volunteer, Nina Frost, welled up with emotion when describing how working at Today’s Harvest has been such a positive experience for her.

“I think most importantly, what I get out of volunteering here at Today’s Harvest, is knowing that we are serving a very big need in our community.” Frost explained. “This food could go into landfills, but instead it’s going onto people’s plates. It’s feeding those that need it the most.”

As far as future goals go for the organization, Francis hopes to mentor other food shelves and agencies who are interested in emulating Open Cupboard’s more sustainable model that offers customers healthy choices instead of a bag of canned and boxed food that they are only eligible to receive once or twice a month.  

“Today’s Harvest works differently than the traditional food shelf, and it works well for the community and the people who use it in a really, really unique way.” Francis said. “We want this to be a demonstration space, so that others interested in learning more about how this model works can come and shadow us and see it. So that’s a goal for 2025, to hold open houses for parties who want to open a program similar to ours in their own community.”

Click here to learn more about volunteering with Open Cupboard.