Tha has visited a few food shelves in the East Metro to help keep her kitchen stocked with fresh, healthy produce. And she’s observed just how different it is at Open Cupboard, specifically its Today’s Harvest markets.
“It’s fast here. You don’t have to make an appointment. You can visit when you need to,” Tha explained. “And I love the staff here. They are so nice and so friendly and helpful.”
Tha has been shopping at Today’s Harvest in Maplewood since right after it opened in December 2024, having seen some news coverage of the grand opening on Facebook. She loves to cook, and her family loves to eat healthy meals made primarily of vegetables and fruit – roasted sweet potato, freshly squeezed orange juice, avocado ‘ice cream,’ potato soup, boiled broccoli. Her daughter loves carrots, apples, and chicken soup.
“We are low income family and come here three days a week,” Tha shared. “If we didn’t come here, we wouldn’t have enough money for healthy food.” Her household consists of her husband, their five and six year old children, and Tha’s mother. The family are Karen, an ethnic group from the country of Myanmar formerly known as Burma.
Frequent visits are easy enough for Tha, as the market is on the way when taking her five year old daughter to school in West St. Paul from their home in Blaine. And frequent visits are a great way to shop Open Cupboard’s Today’s Harvest markets, as coolers and produce bins are stocked with whatever comes in from area grocery stores and food banks, most all of it rescued and donated, meaning selection will vary daily and prepared items are best consumed that day.
In 2025, 327,629 shopping trips to an Open Cupboard program helped fill more than 5.5 million plates like Tha’s with free, fresh, healthy food. Monthly programs – drive-up, home delivery, and mobile distributions – can provide many household helpings. While a trip to Today’s Harvest may be about shopping for a few fresh items to round out a meal or a diet. Whatever a family needs, Open Cupboard is there.