MAPLE — It looks like any other grocery store, but when you check out at Today’s Harvest in Maplewood, shoppers don’t spend a dime.
“We are happy to serve anyone who needs it,” said Open Cupboard Director Jessica Francis. “Because they need this food too.”
It is a supermarket with fresh food without any costs or questions. Today’s Harvest is an initiative of Open Cupboard, a food shelf in Oakdale. The unique food market opened its second location in Maplewood on Tuesday afternoon. There was a line outside at 10am
The market will serve approximately 3,800 families each week and save 20,000 pounds of food from the trash each month. Food that grocers throw away is collected every morning.
“We can get that food to where it is needed before it spoils,” Francis said. “And that’s something that helps everyone in our community.”
It is a community that feels pressure to make ends meet. Grocery prices are still up 20%.
“We know that the food budget is the first thing that gets cut when a family is weighing their bills,” said Allison O’Toole, CEO of Second Harvest Heartland.
Industry leaders say another 2 million Minnesotans will visit food shelves by the end of this year, following a record 7.5 million visits in 2023.
“Efforts like this, initiatives like this will help us get there,” O’Toole said. “We have to think differently about our work and that is what today is about.”
O’Toole, a partner with Open Cupboard, said Second Harvest Heartland is working to cut hunger in half in Minnesota by 2030. O’Toole and other industry leaders plan to lobby for change at the Capitol to make that happen.
“Across Minnesota, we understand that there are people living with food insecurity,” said DFL Majority Leader Sen. Erin Murphy. “And every session in the Legislature, we must pursue solutions.”
Today’s Harvest is open six days a week in both Maplewood and Oakdale. You do not need an appointment to shop there and you can shop there as often as you want.
Beret Leone
